Harry Potter and The Advent of Darkness
by Menolly5600
Summary: Harry Potter Yugioh cross. Two years after the events in the Ancient Egyptian story arc and set after Harry Potter's 5th year at Hogwarts, Yugi and company discover the existence of a new type of enemy, one that has a whole new definition of ‘dueling
1. Ch 1: The Vanishing Darkness

Disclaimer:  
  
None of the characters, of either of the respective professional authors, used in this story are mine with the exception of occasional made-up monsters, which will most likely be noted unless I'm feeling lazy. The plot and events in this story however are products of my imagination and occasionally warped sense of humor; therefore, they belong to me, please don't steal them. Harry Potter and all things Harry Potterish belong without doubt to J.K. Rowling. YuGiOh! and all things pertaining to it belong to Kazuki Takahashi-sama. The Matsuda bakery is from Digimon season 3, I don't own that either. The only Yugioh stuff I own are my issues of Shonen Jump containing yugioh manga and the three manga volumes released in English (so far). Oh and my limited edition Red Eyes Black Dragon holographic card I got in the latest issue of Shonen Jump *hugs dragon*. Other than that, I'm just borrowing the characters and places and such. Don't worry I'll give them back when I'm done, *sniffles*.  
  
Summary:  
  
Two years after the events in the Ancient Egyptian Memory RPG story arc and set after Harry's 5th year at Hogwarts, Yugi-tachi discovers the existence of a new type of enemy, one that has a whole new definition of 'dueling'.  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
Yes this is a HP/YGO crossover. Please don't run away screaming in terror, I promise no yugioh characters are attending Hogwarts and no special foreign teachers are showing up either. No one new is getting the Millennium Items and there are no extra items either. There are also no Mary or Marty Sues and no OC's that will dramatically affect the lives of the main characters.  
  
Also, you should be aware, this is not yaoi or yuri. There will be no lemons or limes or implied sexual action. This is also not shonen-ai. I do not hate shonen-ai, but I feel that the number of well-written yaoi fics so greatly outnumbers those of well-written heterosexual or non-pairings fics that I must contribute my efforts to balancing this discrepancy out. If there are passages or events that seem to imply to you shonen-ai then you may take those as you may, but it was not my intent to portray boy-boy relationships. Any such borderline scenes, if they occur, imply only deep friendship from my point of view. If you want to pretend it implies shonen- ai or yaoi, then be my guest, just don't flame me for it.  
  
This fic takes into account events in both the manga and the anime of Yugioh, so there will be things pertaining to the Noa and the Doom story arcs, which are only available through the anime. Also, since this is set in the future of the Yugioh-verse, this will be a sort of AU based on my take on the outcome of the AE story arc and on what I envision the characters and relationships are developing into.  
  
Over the course of this story you will learn Yami's true ancient Egyptian name as stated in the authentic manga. However, since he is no longer the Pharaoh of Egypt I decided to have him choose to continue being called Yami or 'mou hitori no boku' or whatever his friends want to call him, assuming its not an insult (Yami: -_- "stupid tomb robber"). In fact, he's got so many aliases that it's a wonder he doesn't have a bigger personality complex than he already does.  
  
Yes I know. Title sucks. If you can think of a better one let me know and I'll see if it fits.  
  
Oh yeah, and please go easy on the flames. This is my first fanfic I've ever posted, or written for that matter, so tips and hints are welcome, but please don't get angry at me for some mistake I made that I didn't know about.  
  
Okay, yes I am aware that this is a freakishly long chapter. Don't expect them all to be this long though, the characters decided they had to do stuff that I didn't originally plan to have them do and thus pointless seeming conversations were born. If you think I should cut some of it out to make the story better, let me know, I'll see what I feel works best. This should probably be two or more chapters but then I'd have to make up another title and I don't want to do that.  
  
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. ^_^  
  
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Notes:  
  
Y to YY = /.../  
  
YY to Y = //...//  
  
Bakura (Y. Bakura) to Ryou = ::...::  
  
Ryou to Bakura (Y. Bakura) = :...:  
  
Seto = 17 years old  
  
Mai = 19  
  
Mokuba = 13  
  
Shizuka = 14  
  
Yugi, Jou, Honda, Anzu, Otogi (Duke) = 16  
  
Aa = a form of yes in Japanese  
  
Hn = affirmative sound, sort of a grunt (Kaiba uses it a lot)  
  
Un = affirmative sound  
  
ni-sama = older brother, said with respect, and in Mokuba's case, hero- worship  
  
onii-chan = older brother, said with respect and affection  
  
baka = idiot  
  
yami = darkness, or just dark  
  
-kun = term indicating friendship  
  
-chan = term of endearment, also used for females younger than the speaker  
  
-san = term of informal respect, sorta like saying Mister or Miss  
  
Oi = a sound Jounouchi uses a lot, kinda like 'hey'  
  
Aibou = partner, companion, but deeper, sorta like soul-mate when used by Yami to Yugi (but not romantically)  
  
Mou hitori no boku = basically means 'other me'  
  
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Harry Potter and The Advent of Darkness  
  
Chapter 1: The Vanishing Darkness  
  
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Domino City, Japan, 5:42 pm, July 9th.  
  
"Tell me again why we're doing this?"  
  
"Ni-sama, that's the fourth time you've asked me that," frowned Mokuba Kaiba as he turned away from the window to look up at the tall young man sitting next to him. Outside the window the buildings continued to slide by as the sleek white KC limo prowled through the quiet evening streets.  
  
"Hn. I'm waiting to wake up and learn the answer has changed." The brunette replied as he folded his arms across his chest.  
  
"Aa," Mokuba nodded, "but you promised Seto."  
  
"That's what I'm hoping will change," Seto Kaiba muttered under his breath. "Are you certain you don't want to go somewhere else? The driver will take us anywhere you want." Kaiba reached over for the intercom button. Mokuba slid off his seat and intercepted his brother's hand.  
  
"Its not that bad Seto, and you know it. Besides, I want to go."  
  
"The driver can drop you off, there's no reason for me to be there." The elder Kaiba leaned back into the leather seat of the limousine.  
  
Mokuba frowned as he dropped back into his seat. "We were both invited, ni- sama. Don't worry it'll be all right. Besides, you need to get out more often. You've been working so much lately I've barely seen you." Mokuba added softly as he looked down at his lap. His gray-blue eyes took on a distant, sad expression as he looked up and added, "I want to spend more time with you and this is a good chance, especially since your school just got out for summer break*. So please come too."  
  
"Aa." Kaiba sighed and dipped his chin in a nod. "But don't expect this sort of thing everyday Mokuba." He added as he locked gazes with his little brother. "It'll be a miracle if this night goes smoothly."  
  
"Aa, but it'll be okay, you'll see ni-sama." Mokuba smiled happily up at Seto, his eyes lighting up.  
  
"Hn." Seto grunted and glanced away towards the window to hide the beginnings of his knowing smirk from his little brother.  
  
There was a soft click sound from the speakers set into the plush walls of the limo. "Seto-sama, we've arrived. I can let you out at the curb, but there is nowhere for me to park to wait for you nearby."  
  
"When we need you, we'll call. Find a place to wait and keep the line free."  
  
"Yes sir." The limo slowed to a halt and the engine shut off. The driver's door opened and shut. A moment later, the door to Seto's right swung open to let in the warm night air.  
  
"Let's go Mokuba."  
  
"Okay!"  
  
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Kami Game Shop, 5:14 pm.  
  
"Tell me again why we're doing this?"  
  
"Honestly! Jounouchi, haven't you been listening at all?" Anzu Mazaki demanded as she straightened up from where she had been crouched, a roll of tape in one hand and a rolled banner in the other.  
  
"Of course I have! I just don't get why that guy has to be here! He'll probably ruin the whole thing and sit there glaring at everyone." Growled Jounouchi as he dragged a kitchen table chair over to the wall and set it down by the window with a thump.  
  
"You know that's not true Jounouchi-kun. This'll be great! You'll see. Anzu, are you almost done with the banner?" Yugi Mutou asked as he walked into the living room of his home above the Kami Game Shop from the hallway. He had just come up the stairs from the shop below them.  
  
"Oi, what'cha got there, Yugi?" Jounouchi Katsuya** asked as he jumped up onto the chair he had pulled across the room and glanced over through his blond bangs at his diminutive best friend who was carrying three large sacks, one in each hand and the third balanced under his chin on his arms.  
  
"What do you think we went out to get Jou?" Honda Hiroto asked as he walked in behind Yugi. He was carrying two plastic sacks with his left arm through the handles, and was balancing a large white box in both hands. "C'mon Yugi, lets get this stuff into the kitchen."  
  
"Aa!" Yugi grinned exuberantly as he followed the tall teen across the room and through the doorway that led into the kitchen. "Its just more food Jounouchi-kun, and the order from the Matsuda bakery." He grinned across at his best friend who was balancing on the chair next to the window on the far side of the room.  
  
"Do you think it'll be enough Yugi? Not everyone is here yet." Anzu asked in a concerned tone as she crossed the room to take one of the sacks from Yugi. "Let me take one of those." Anzu said as she smiled warmly at him.  
  
"Aa, thanks Anzu." Yugi smiled up at her before ducking his head to hide the pink tinge to his cheeks.  
  
"And knowing these two, there might not be enough left by the time everyone gets here." Anzu jerked her thumb at Jounouchi and Honda as she turned to head into the kitchen.  
  
"Don't worry Anzu. I'm sure there'll be enough for everyone, we did buy a lot." Yugi smiled up at the brunette as the two passed into the kitchen. They walked down the small aisle of linoleum that separated the dining table area and the kitchen area. They turned a sharp left and set their bags down on the countertop bar that held stools underneath it next to the box Honda had set down already. Through the opening above it they could see into the kitchen itself. Standing in front of the stove and countertop on the far side of the kitchen, and subsequently guarding the racks of cookies and treats from Honda, was a familiar person. The back of a yellow apron was tied around his waist.  
  
"Good you're back! Now you can help me with these cookies." Ryou Bakura smiled as he turned around to greet his friends. His pale silvery hair matched the smudges of flour on his right cheek and across the bridge of his nose as he smiled brightly at them.  
  
"I thought Otogi was helping you?" Honda frowned as he looked around the kitchen. Zero Otogis were present.  
  
"Well, he was, but it turns out he's um..well.." Ryou stammered thinking of a polite way to put it.  
  
"What he means is, Otogi couldn't cook anything edible if his life depended on it." Jounouchi grinned from the doorway. "He's in the bathroom, trying to salvage his shirt after he got in a fight with a spatula. Spatula won."  
  
"If he needs to, he can borrow one of my shirts. I hope he doesn't mind black leather." Yugi added as an afterthought.  
  
"Don't worry Yugi. It wasn't as bad as Jounouchi says." Ryou smiled at the shorter teen. "But between the appliances declaring war on Otogi and having to let my yami threaten Jou to keep him from snitching snacks, I'm a little behind schedule. I'm glad you and Honda-kun got back. I'll need your help with finishing the treats." He gestured with his cooking spoon to the counter where various cookies, cupcakes, and sweets*** sat in various stages of preparation.  
  
"Of course Bakura-kun." Yugi smiled happily. "Will everything be ready in time though? We all need to be ready when they get here. You too, Bakura- kun. You shouldn't be in the kitchen when he comes inside."  
  
"I know. That's why I need some extra help in here." Ryou smiled. "Don't worry, Yugi. With you and Anzu helping out we'll have everything set for 6:00pm."  
  
"Oi, what about the living room? I can't put everything up on my own ya know." Jounouchi frowned, glancing over at the paper bags set on the low coffee table in front of the television.  
  
"Now, that's something I can handle. No more cooking for me, sorry Bakura- kun. I think I'm more cut out for going out to eat, not making it myself. Besides, the ladies would prefer going to fancy restaurants on dates rather than home cooked meals." Otogi Ryuujin smirked from the doorway behind Jounouchi as he rubbed at his dark olive green shirt with a paper towel. Pausing, he examined the spot he was working on and nodded, deeming it once again cookie batter-less, before adjusting the black vest he was wearing over it.  
  
"Oh really? Didn't you say Shizuka-chan was impressed by my cooking skills, Jounouchi?" Honda grinned turning to Jounouchi. Then he smirked over at Otogi who scowled back at Honda.  
  
"Eh?" Jounouchi frowned and blinked, oblivious to the invisible lightning arcing between the two would-be suitors. 'Since when did Honda cook for Shizuka?' "Wait a sec! Date? Honda! Why you!" Jounouchi lunged for the lanky teen.  
  
"Eh heh." Yugi sweatdropped as he fervently hoped they wouldn't start a fistfight in his kitchen doorway as Anzu twitched beside him.  
  
"Jounouchi! Why don't you and Otogi go finish setting up the living room. Honda, since you can cook, I bet you'll be a great help to Bakura. You, Yugi and I will help you finish up Bakura, okay? I'm sure the two of you can handle finishing the living room, right?" Anzu asked sweetly as she turned to Jou and Otogi, too sweetly. Everyone blinked and sweatdropped before nodding vigorously. Jounouchi and Otogi beat a hasty retreat into the living room.  
  
::Che, morons. You'd think they'd have some backbone by now. Running from a girl.::  
  
Ryou blinked and glanced at Anzu as she calmed down from her near-meltdown. :Oh sure, you can say that when its not you out here facing her wrath.:  
  
::Coward. You'd run from her too if you had a chance, wouldn't you. Pathetic mortals, terrified of a girl. You'd think they were running from one of my pets. If they were, then they'd really have reason to be afraid.::  
  
:Yami, please don't start anything, not tonight.:  
  
::Che. Like I'd bother. Have your fun. It'll be worth it to watch pharaoh-yo do the dishes.::  
  
Ryou sweatdropped as he felt his yami sink once more into the back of his mind.  
  
"Bakura-kun? Is everything okay?" Yugi asked, looking up at the white haired youth standing next to him as he set a jug of juice into the fridge.  
  
"Oh? Oh, yes, I'm sorry, it's just my yami."  
  
"He's not going to try anything tonight is he?" Yugi asked, concerned. "I want everything to go alright tonight."  
  
"No, he says he won't bother. Though he wants me to have your yami do the dishes."  
  
//I do not do dishes.//  
  
Yugi giggled at the mental images their comments conjured.  
  
//I can see those, you know. And its not funny.//  
  
"Yugi?" Ryou blinked as Yugi started giggling softly. 'Must be Yami.'  
  
/Okay, okay. Don't worry. I wont make you do the dishes. Bakura-kun won't either. But I hope Yami Bakura doesn't cause any problems tonight./  
  
//Aa. With grandpa and your mother out of the country we need to prove we're capable of taking care of the house, despite conniving ex-thief kings.//  
  
/Not only that, I want tonight to be perfect. Besides, they both deserve a chance to relax and have some fun with friends./  
  
//Aa, he has precious little time to do so. I hope he can enjoy himself tonight. Do you think he brought his deck?//  
  
/Yami, I don't think a duel will help him relax./ Yugi replied, exasperated.  
  
//Just asking Aibou. Besides, I bet he'd enjoy it.// Yugi could feel his other's grin through their link.  
  
/Probably, but there isn't room in here for a duel, unless you two just use cards and a game mat. Anyhow, we'll have our hands full with Jounouchi in the same room. We don't need more tension./  
  
//Aa. Though I'm sure Shizuka can smooth things over if they get out of hand. She has quite the way with two hardheaded stubborn guys I know.// Yami's mirth traveled down their link and tickled Yugi's mind.  
  
/Do you think he has any idea how much she affects him?/  
  
//He hasn't got a clue. If he did, he might actually panic. Now that'd be a sight to see. I wonder if I can reserve seats.//  
  
/Yaami./  
  
//Well, if you wont come watch with me, I bet Jounouchi'll pay to see him panic.//  
  
/Not if Jounouchi knows who he's panicking over./  
  
//Hmm, got me there. Ah, Bakura-kun's trying to get our attention Aibou.//  
  
/He probably wants you to start on the dishes./ Yugi mentally stuck his tongue out at Yami before focusing on his surroundings once again.  
  
"Yugi? Could you start decorating these cupcakes? When you finish could you start cutting these brownies and rice crispy treats into squares and stacking them on plates." Bakura asked, pointing with his cooking spoon at two racks of cooling unfrosted chocolate cupcakes and the three pans of desserts sitting next to them.  
  
"Aa." Yugi nodded and took up his post at the two frosting bowls, vanilla and chocolate.  
  
"Anzu, could you start putting these chips into the serving bowls that are in the cupboard above the dishwasher, there's dip and salsa in the fridge for them. Then could you start setting the cookies onto platters and put them on the countertop bar over there next to the glasses." Bakura asked as he pulled on an oven mitt and pulled the oven open, taking out a covered dish.  
  
"Un." Anzu nodded as she reached up to the cupboard and started pulling down the serving platters and bowls.  
  
"Oh, what should I do Bakura? Can I help decorate the cupcakes, that frosting looks really good, did you make it yourself?" Honda asked, practically drooling at the site of all the treats. "Ooh! Are those M&M cookies?" Honda asked as he reached for the cookies cooling on the rack next to the end of the counter.  
  
Thwap!  
  
"Eeeowch!" Honda yelped and leaped back cradling his hand. "What was that for Bakura!"  
  
"Baka." Bakura sneered as he glared at Honda, his deep brown eyes reflecting eerily with a reddish light. "I already had this conversation with that blond sidekick, do I need to teach you a lesson in manners as well?" Bakura glared, then shook his head, his bangs swayed back and forth as he did so, seemingly spikier than usual. "Don't touch my landlord's cooking until its ready. Tastes better that way anyhow."  
  
"You! W-what are you doing here, I thought you weren't going to be here tonight." Honda stammered as he took a hasty step back.  
  
"Che, idiot. Just because I don't show myself doesn't mean I'm not here." Yami Bakura glared at Honda as he tried to maneuver to put Yugi, who was watching with mild concern, between them. "Be glad all Ryou had in his hand was the spoon. Next time you try to snitch a cookie it might be a knife. Besides, I'm the only one around here who gets to steal his cooking."  
  
Bakura blinked suddenly, his hair seeming to settle down onto his scalp again as his eyes took on their warm brown hue again. "Eh heh, sorry Honda- kun. I asked him if he could help me defend the food from snitching and he took offense at the idea of others stealing from us, even if it is meant for everyone later."**** Ryou chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head with his right hand.  
  
"Well, now we know why Jounouchi didn't try to snitch anything when he was in here a moment ago." Anzu said as she set down another bowl. "Really though, you shouldn't spoil your appetite Honda. Mai and Shizuka-chan will be back soon. They'll keep warm in the oven right Bakura-kun?" She asked as she turned to face him.  
  
"Oh, yes, they'll be fine in the oven for a little bit. Everyone should be here by then. I do hope traffic isn't bad though." Bakura added as he turned back to the bowl of dough he was dividing into cookie pats on a pan.  
  
"Don't worry Bakura-kun, knowing them there wont be any problems with traffic. He wont let anything ruin tonight." Yugi smiled over at the worried looking teen.  
  
"Hey, Bakura, you never did say what I could do to help." Honda pouted as he gazed longingly at the mounting pile of treats on the counters.  
  
"Oh, right. Could you get out the plates and cups. We'll need them to be all ready for when everyone arrives." Bakura gestured at the respective cupboards lining the walls of the kitchen over the counters.  
  
"I'm hurt, don't you trust me with the treats?" Honda asked as rivers of tears streamed down his cheeks.  
  
"Umm, not really. Sorry Honda-kun, but both you and Jounouchi have the same amount of restraint around food as my yami does around shiny expensive things."  
  
::I heard that you know.:: Yami Bakura's voice growled in his mind.  
  
:Eh heh, sorry?: Bakura sweatdropped. The only response Ryou got was grumbling in the back of his mind, followed by the sound of a door shutting. Ryou winced mentally.  
  
"What!? You mean you don't trust me? Now I'm really hurt." Honda proceeded to sniffle and sob under his arm like the best drama queen Hollywood had to offer. Bakura and Yugi proceeded to sweatdrop. Anzu twitched. Honda didn't notice. Yugi began to mentally prepare an appropriate epitaph for Honda.  
  
//Perhaps you should try to save him before his untimely demise, hmm Aibou?//  
  
/I suppose that would be best. So what's the plan?/  
  
//I don't know. How about saying, "Hey look, its Kaiba in nothing but boxers!" Think that'll get her attention?//  
  
/Umm. I'd prefer not having her think of Kaiba-kun in boxers, in fact I'd prefer not having that mental image either. Maybe I should say, "Hey look, its mou hitori no boku in Dark Magician boxers!"/  
  
//That would imply that you have Dark Magician boxers too. Do you want her to know that?//  
  
/Eeep!/ Yugi felt his cheeks begin heating up as the oh-so-familiar blush returned to his face. /Damn it, there goes that plan./ Yami's laughter bubbled up in his mind at his predicament.  
  
//You did walk yourself right into that one Aibou.//  
  
/Aa./ Yugi sighed. One of the drawbacks of having a strategic genius living in the back of your head is the inability to often come out on top in the verbal teasing department. Of course, when he did get him, he got him good.  
  
//Uh oh, better hurry and rescue Honda, Aibou, or else there might not be much left of him.//  
  
/Eh?/ Yugi mentally came back to the kitchen with a start and glanced over to see Anzu advancing on an oblivious Honda with a large wooden stirring spoon in hand. This sort of thing never boded well for the target of her ire. Time to implement interception maneuvers.  
  
"Uh, Anzu, where did you and Jounouchi-kun put all the packages?" Yugi asked, stepping forward to semi-block Anzu's path to Honda.  
  
"Eh? Oh, we stacked all of them in the back storeroom of the shop. I figured they wouldn't go back there and see them before hand, and they wouldn't get in the way of preparations there either." Anzu blinked over at Yugi, the twitching vein in her forehead diminishing from threat level to mere irritation.  
  
"Ah, that's good. Honda-kun, have you put yours with the others yet?" Yugi asked, turning to Honda hoping to snap him out of his pit of cookie- despair.  
  
"Eh, oh yeah. No I haven't, its still in the living room. I should probably go put it with the others, huh?" Honda replied, suddenly normal again, tears forgotten. "I'll go put it away and hurry back to finish up in here, okay Bakura."  
  
"Okay." Bakura smiled; relieved he wouldn't have to drag an unconscious Honda out from underfoot. "Hurry back though, its getting closer to 6pm and we still have to finish up this last batch of cookies and set all the food out."  
  
Honda nodded before heading out the doorway into the living room. Anzu returned to the chip platters and Bakura smiled at Yugi who grinned back.  
  
"Don't worry everyone. This'll be great tonight. We'll be ready by 6pm, I'm sure of it Bakura-kun." Yugi smiled at his friend who was looking a bit stressed. Bakura smiled back.  
  
Honda came back a moment later, followed by a tall, leggy, blond woman and a petite redhead with green eyes. Honda was loaded down with boxes of pizza and neither of the girls was carrying any.  
  
"Honda-san, are you sure you can carry all of those?" Shizuka Katsuya** asked, looking at Honda stagger under the weight of the boxes.  
  
"Oh yeah, I'm fine Shizuka-chan. This is nothing, I could carry twice this many." Honda grunted from behind the stack of boxes.  
  
"Wow Bakura, you sure know how to set out a dessert spread." Mai Kujaku grinned and winked at the lightly blushing teen. "Anyway, we brought dinner, we aren't late are we? I'd hate to miss tonight."  
  
"Nope, you're just in time to help me and Otogi finish decorating the living room." Jounouchi grinned as he stuck his head in through the doorway. "I can't wait to see the look on his face. Oi, Yugi, do you think there'll be enough places for everyone to be when they get here?"  
  
"Un, there should be. Most of us will fit into the kitchen and then there's the couches and armchairs in the living room too." Yugi nodded.  
  
"Great! That guy better not ruin it." Jounouchi grumbled.  
  
"Oh? You're decorating Jou? Well, don't just stand there looking excited, show me! It'll probably need a lady's touch though. Guys usually have no fashion sense, right Shizuka-chan." Mai winked at Jou's little sister who blushed and smiled behind her fingers.  
  
"Whaat! I'll show you, I'm a great decorator!" Jou cried looking indignant.  
  
"Hey, I helped too you know. You'll see Shizuka-chan, I'm an excellent decorator, much better than Honda or Jounouchi." Otogi pouted at Jounouchi then preened for Shizuka who giggled. Jounouchi just glared at him.  
  
"Well, don't just stand there blocking the door, let's go Shizuka-chan and see their excellent decorating job." Mai grinned as she took the younger girl's hand and pulled her past the two boys, snagging Jounouchi by the wrist as she went.  
  
"Oi, hey Mai, take it easy." Jounouchi cried as he was suddenly tugged backwards into the living room. A light blush dusted his cheeks as Mai came to a stop behind the couch and he glanced down and realized they were holding hands now.  
  
Mai grinned coyly over at him, before winking and looking around. "Well it's a good start, but don't worry, this place will be spectacular by the time we're done with it, right Shizuka-chan?" She winked at the green-eyed girl and smiled.  
  
Shizuka smiled brilliantly back and nodded, "Un!"  
  
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"I don't see any lights on ni-sama, do you think everything's okay?" Mokuba asked as he looked up at the building ahead of them. The limo pulled away from the curb and turned the corner at the end of the block and slipped out of sight.  
  
"Hn, its likely we just can't see them from down here. If there was trouble I'm sure we would have gotten some sort of message about it, we usually do." Seto snorted as he swept up the walkway to the front door of the building. Mokuba hurried after him. When they reached the door Mokuba saw a piece of paper taped to the door.  
  
"Ni-sama?" Mokuba asked in a worried tone. What if the paper was the message of trouble.  
  
Seto took the paper down off the door and unfolded it, scanning it with his eyes. "Hn, its okay Mokuba, just letting us know he's too busy in the kitchen to come down and let us in. See." He held out the paper to Mokuba who accepted it.  
  
"Un." Mokuba nodded. The paper held the familiar handwriting telling them to let themselves in and come on upstairs. "But ni-sama, isn't it dangerous to leave this note here? Yugi-kun is by himself right now with his grandpa and mother out of the country, and his other friends were too busy with family business to have dinner with him tonight, that's why he invited us. A burglar could sneak in and hurt him with the door unlocked."  
  
"Mokuba, I doubt any burglar would escape after breaking in, let alone come close to harming Yugi, not with Yami around. Yugi is probably safer with Yami than he is with his grandfather."  
  
"Aa, you're right ni-sama. Yami would make any burglar want to change professions." Mokuba cheered up at that. "Lets go inside ni-sama, Yugi- kun is probably waiting for us."  
  
"Aa." Seto took hold of the door handle and opened the door to the Kami Game Shop.  
  
The two Kaiba brothers stepped inside the darkened interior of the building. The shop seemed empty and there was no sound from upstairs. Seto let Mokuba lead the way to the back of the store and through the door on the right. They climbed the short staircase to the landing on the second floor and Mokuba reached out and opened the door at the top. They stepped out into a small hallway with doors leading off to the left and right. A few feet ahead and to the left was the open archway that lead into the darkened living room.  
  
"Ni-sama, all the lights are off. Are you sure Yugi-kun's all right?" Mokuba whispered, becoming really worried.  
  
"Hm. Mokuba, check the living room and kitchen. I'll be just down the hall checking the bedrooms. If you see anything, give a shout." Seto frowned as he glanced around the small darkened home.  
  
"A-aa." Mokuba nodded, a feeling of worry growing within him. He turned and stepped forward into the living room, feeling around on the wall beside the door for the light switch he knew was there. Finally finding the switch he flipped it and the lights came on.  
  
"SURPRISE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOKUBA!"  
  
The joyful shouts rang through the whole house as Mokuba nearly jumped out of his skin as Jounouchi and Mai leaped up from behind the couch, Shizuka jumped out from behind the armchair near the window, and the door to the kitchen spilled out an entire crowd of cheering, confetti throwing teens. "W-what??" Mokuba blinked and stuttered in confusion and surprise. A huge banner reading 'Happy 13th Birthday Mokuba-kun!' was stretched across the living room from the wall above the window to the wall near the kitchen doorway. Balloons and streamers filled the ceiling and the corners of the room, while celebration poppers were set off spraying more confetti and streamers into the air above his head.  
  
"Happy Birthday, Mokuba." A mirth-filled, deep voice spoke into his ear.  
  
Mokuba turned in shock to find Seto crouching down behind him with a big grin spreading across his features. "B-but, I thought ... I thought."  
  
"Oi, Mokuba, you didn't think your brother would actually do nothing special for your birthday did you?" Jounouchi grinned from ear to ear from his place with his torso draped over the back of the couch, Mai standing next to him grinning triumphantly.  
  
"I...I figured he'd just been so busy and stressed lately, what with the expansion into Europe that he just hadn't had time." Mokuba confessed blushing in embarrassment.  
  
"Mokuba. I'd never forget your birthday, and I'll never be so busy I wont have time for it either. This has been planned for the past two weeks." Seto smiled at him as he hugged his little brother tightly. Mokuba threw his arms around Seto's neck and hugged back, a huge smile on his face.  
  
"Oi, oi, Kaiba, don't go taking all the credit! The surprise party was Yugi's idea! And we all helped ya know, you didn't do everything." Jounouchi groused, shaking his fist at Kaiba.  
  
"Hn, like I needed your help, puppy." Seto coolly said back. Jounouchi growled and started getting that look that comes right before an explosion.  
  
"But, Kaiba-san, Mokuba-kun would have missed onii-chan if he wasn't here. Then Mokuba-kun's birthday would not be as fun as it could have been." Shizuka frowned slightly as she met Kaiba's gaze.  
  
"Aa, that's true Shizuka-san. Hn, for Mokuba's sake, I'm glad you came," Seto replied as he turned to Jounouchi who looked utterly dumbfounded at this admission, until, "Mediocre One."  
  
//Shizuka one, Kaiba zero. Though I think Jounouchi is into the negatives by now.//  
  
/Must you keep score?/  
  
Jounouchi twitched violently. Everyone else but Kaiba sweatdropped.  
  
Bakura suddenly vanished into the kitchen and reappeared carrying a tray of brownies and another of chocolate chip cookies. "Who wants cookies or brownies? The pizza will be ready as soon as it's taken out of the oven."  
  
Jounouchi turned abruptly and grinned. "Wow those look great Bakura!" And yet another disaster was averted.  
  
//-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------//  
  
Kami Game Shop, 10:03 pm  
  
"N-no, not that way! Ah! Right! Right! You can do it! Aaaaaah! No! No! No! Alright!! You got it, Yugi!" Jounouchi whooped leaping up and down like a little kid behind the couch.  
  
"That was great Yugi, I've never seen anyone defeat that level so quickly before." Bakura added from his position perched on the right arm of the couch.  
  
"Un, Yugi is great at video games." Anzu smiled over at Yugi from where she sat next to him on the couch.  
  
Yugi blushed bright red and laughed rubbing the back of his head. "Its not that big of a deal guys." He replied as he set the controller down onto his lap.  
  
"What, are you kidding? Even Yami's and Kaiba's scores weren't that high!" Jounouchi crowed.  
  
"And yours was even worse than usual." Seto grunted from his position sprawled languidly in the armchair to the left of the television. He smirked as Jounouchi turned red and growled at him.  
  
"Yami isn't really familiar with the controllers or this type of console games. So its understandable that my score was a bit higher." Yugi smiled at Jounouchi and sent a wave of comforting and soothing emotions to his Other. "I really hope you guys haven't addicted him to console party games."  
  
//I am not addicted. I merely find them fascinating. Are you certain there is no magic involved?// Yami sat in insubstantial form, visible only to Yugi, cross-legged on the floor beside the black consol. He had been staring and poking at it for the past half hour trying to figure it out.  
  
/No magic at all Yami./  
  
//Hmm, yet such a complicated game is contained within this tiny black box. Are you sure we can't get our own?// He looked up at Yugi hopefully.  
  
/No Yami, this console system is way too expensive for my allowance to handle, you know that./  
  
//Aa. Sorry Aibou. Maybe I can persuade Mokuba to let us come over, or perhaps borrow it occasionally.// Yami looked thoughtfully over at Kaiba and smiled softly. //Kaiba-kun actually looks relaxed, doesn't he, Aibou.//  
  
/Un. I haven't seen him smile this much in like forever. I'm glad he agreed to this party. And he and Jounouchi-kun have even managed not to get into a fight./  
  
//Thank Shizuka for that Aibou. She has quite the diplomatic talent. Of course, being a major distraction to Kaiba doesn't hurt.//  
  
/Un, but don't mention that to Jounouchi, he might actually try to punch Kaiba-kun for it./  
  
//Aa.// Then Yami glanced up at the doorway to the kitchen and grinned.  
  
"Hey, are Honda and Otogi back with the pizza yet?" Mokuba asked as he came in from the kitchen with a bowl of vanilla ice cream smothered in chocolate sauce. He plopped himself down at the foot of Seto's armchair after pushing aside the discarded wrapping paper from his birthday presents, and folded his legs Indian style.  
  
"I can't believe you guys ate all of those pizzas and wanted more." Anzu shook her head. "You'll all probably be sick to your stomachs tomorrow."  
  
"Aww come on Anzu, we're all growing teenagers you know. We need plenty of the four basic food groups. Soda, Pizza, Chocolate, and Desserts." Jounouchi grinned over at her.  
  
"You mean the four basic junk foods. I hope you don't eat like that all the time, you'll get fat and then a certain lady duelist will make you diet and sweat off the weight." Anzu grinned slyly over at Jounouchi who paled slightly.  
  
"Eh heh, good point. But don't worry Anzu! I'm totally healthy and full of energy!" Jounouchi grinned making silly body-builder poses.  
  
Everyone but Seto sweatdropped at that. Seto just looked disbelievingly at Jounouchi, unable to comprehend how he could have left himself so wide open for yet another insult and not realize it. However, before he could take advantage of it, Shizuka and Mai came back into the room from the kitchen.  
  
Mai grinned. "Well boys, Anzu, we come bearing gifts."  
  
"Un. Mai-san and I made fruit smoothies." Shizuka held out a tray full of glasses with straws as Mai set hers onto the coffee table that had been moved off to the side under the window to make room for the console. "We have banana, strawberry, chocolate, and orange, who wants what?"  
  
"Ahh, Shizuka! You're a life saver! We were all just about to die of thirst waiting for the pizzas!" Jounouchi hurried over to her and picked up a chocolate shake. The others chose drinks and then Mai and Shizuka took the rest back into the kitchen to put in the fridge for later.  
  
Yugi sat back onto the couch and took a sip of his strawberry smoothie. /Mmm this is good, did you want to try some?/  
  
//No thanks, Aibou. Maybe later though.//  
  
/Still focused on the game console eh?/  
  
//Aa.//  
  
Yugi leaned forward to set the controller onto the floor next to the console when he felt a faint cold, tingling sensation glide across his neck and run down his spine. He shuddered as he felt every hair on his body stand up as a chilly rush flooded across his skin and through his pores to his very core.  
  
"Yugi, are you all right? You looked cold for a moment, want us to turn up the heat?" Anzu asked as she scooted a few inches closer to Yugi and draped an arm over his shoulders as he shivered at the edge of the couch.  
  
"No, its nothing Anzu." Yugi smiled reassuringly up at her, still too disturbed by the strange sensations to fully register the warmth of her arm and thigh pressing against his body through their clothes. "Probably just a draft or something."  
  
"Eh? Are you sure Yugi? It may be summer but the nights still get cold this close to the harbor. We don't mind turning the heat up." Anzu pressed watching Yugi's slender form for any sign of renewed shivers with concern.  
  
"Oi, Anzu's right for once." Jounouchi spoke up, shifting his weight slightly as he hugged his shoulders. "It is getting kinda cold up in here. Did someone open a window or something?" He glanced around the room but none of the windows were open.  
  
Yugi glanced around and noticed that Bakura was looking around with a look that could easily turn into panic on his face, while Jounouchi was starting to look very pale and somewhat spooked. Seto was looking unconcerned at first glance, but his blue eyes were darting around warily before turning to watch Mokuba as he worked on setting up his new laptop. Then Yugi noticed Yami. His eyes were distant and his head was cocked to the side, as though listening intently to something faint with distance.  
  
/Yami, is something wrong? Are you okay?/  
  
//Eh?// Yami jerked back to attention and glanced at Yugi. //Aibou, what's wrong, you look pale?//  
  
/I don't know, I just felt a chill run through me. And even Jounouchi is feeling it too.***** But, Bakura looks kind of scared don't you think? Is there something wrong? You were spaced out for a moment./ Yugi asked, letting a bit of his concern leak down their link to Yami.  
  
//I-I'm not sure Aibou. I thought I heard something for a moment, but I guess not. I don't hear anything unusual right now.// Yami blinked and turned to look at Bakura. //Strange, he does look panicky. What could be going on that could alarm him?//  
  
Yugi slipped off the couch to face Bakura fully. "Bakura-kun, you don't look so good. Is everything okay?"  
  
"O-oh, Yugi. I-I'm not sure. I just suddenly had the strangest feeling. Its probably nothing though." Bakura laughed half-heartedly and rubbed the back of his head with one hand, trying to smile Yugi's concern away.  
  
:Y-yami, did you feel that too?:  
  
::Aa. What in the name of Ra was that?::  
  
:Y-y-you mean you don't know?: Bakura's fear increased closer to panic levels and began to flood their link.  
  
::Stop that you fool! I can't focus if you keep flooding the link like that!::  
  
:S-sorry.:  
  
::No, I don't know what the hell that was. But I intend to find out. Whatever the hell it was, it felt like it was... like it was searching.:: Yami Bakura muttered across the link as he paced back and forth in his soul room twirling a curved dagger around his fingers. 'What was it searching for, and more importantly, who was doing the searching?'  
  
:S-searching? What do you mean yami?:  
  
::Exactly what it sounded like, moron. That was some sort of power searching for something, it tried to go down our link, but it didn't anticipate the defenses I've set against anything trying to force its way into my soul room.::  
  
:S-so, it doesn't know about you then?: Bakura asked, with a tinge of relief flowing down the link to the thief king as he stomped around his soul room. :B-but, do you think it found out about Yami? Yugi said he was out earlier, messing around with the console system.:  
  
Yami Bakura paused in his pacing and cocked his head. ::Pharaoh-yo was out? What the hell, why does that puffed up princeling get to come out at the party and I can't!? That's totally unfair Ryou! Figures, he'd get his way, that bastard.:: Yami Bakura growled, spun around, and flung the dagger across his soul room, burying it in the wooden target board hanging on the far wall.  
  
Bakura winced mentally as his yami's anger roiled across their link, and felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment and guilt. Yami Bakura was right, it was unfair. But the party was for Mokuba-kun and Mokuba didn't really know his yami very well at all. After all, Yami Bakura wasn't exactly the sociable type.  
  
:Sorry.:  
  
::Hnh.:: Yami Bakura grunted and Ryou felt a subtle flow of understanding, if not forgiveness, from his yami.  
  
:B-but, what about Yami?: Bakura persisted, his worry flowing down the link so thickly it was almost palpable.  
  
::Che. Pharaoh-yo may be a stuck up bastard, but he's capable of covering his own ass. I should know. He's done it enough times when I've tried to get the best of him. There's no reason for you to worry, kid.::  
  
:Aa. Thanks yami.: Bakura sent a flood of gratitude down the link.  
  
Yami Bakura snorted. ::Che, idiot.::  
  
"Bakura-kun? Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Yugi asked again. Bakura had spaced out for a few seconds so he knew he had been talking to his yami. Maybe he had something to say about this.  
  
"Oh, n-no Yugi. Whatever it was, its over now and nothing happened so everything must be okay." Bakura smiled over at the young duelist, hoping he would reassure his friend.  
  
"Ah, well, I'm just going to go check on Mai and Shizuka-chan. I hope they aren't plotting anything in the kitchen." Anzu smiled, trying to reassure herself that all was well. Picking up her smoothie, Anzu stood up and walked around the couch past Kaiba and headed for the kitchen. Halfway to the doorway, Anzu froze in mid-step, her glass falling to the floor as all reassurances were flung out the window.  
  
Yugi had turned to watch Anzu stand up and go. She was almost to the kitchen when he took a step back towards his seat on the couch and a familiar and unwelcome rush of power surged into his body once more. However, unlike before, this time the power came swiftly, and aggressively ripped into his very being. Gasping for breath that wouldn't come to lungs suddenly burning with cold, Yugi doubled over, clutching his shirt with one hand over his heart.  
  
"Yugi!!" Jounouchi cried in horror as he saw his best friend double over as his eyes became wide and stricken with pain. Jounouchi grasped the back of the couch and pushed himself up to vault over the obstruction between them.  
  
//Aibou!// Yami cried out at the same moment, surging up from his position on the floor and taking a step toward Yugi, hands outstretched as though to catch and hold him up. He never reached Yugi. A sudden surge of freezing cold energy rushed up from the deepest part of his being. It flooded his entire spiritual form, emanating from his link with Yugi as the pain of his Aibou poured into his mind. This strange power wrapped its tendrils about Yami and then constricted viciously. Yami cried out at the pain of his own body as the center of his being was seemingly ripped apart. His vision blacked out for an instant and when it cleared he found himself on his knees, one arm wrapped across his stomach, the other clutching at his heart, as though to hold his own body together with his hands.  
  
The lights in the living room flickered violently before going out as the television blew a fuse and blacked out the only remaining light in the room. Mokuba cried out in fear as there was a thump from where Bakura had been sitting. Anzu spun around with Yugi's name on her lips as she heard a crash of dishes in the kitchen behind her. All the breath was sucked from her lungs as a cold descended on the entire room that was so complete and pervasive that it almost forced Anzu to her knees. A dim, flickering, sickly greenish light filled the room. Bathing the scene before her in a nightmarish, deathly pallor.  
  
Jounouchi had landed badly on the couch, startled from the plunge into darkness, and had kicked Bakura to the ground from the arm of the couch where he had perched. Bakura was sprawled on his side, using one arm to hold his torso off the carpet. Kaiba was on his feet, Mokuba clutched protectively to his side as he clung to his older brother. But what caught her attention the most were the two figures clearly visible in the nauseous green light, doubled up on the floor in front of the hissing television set.  
  
Both Yugi's were clearly visible, though the somewhat taller of the two was a pale washed out color. But most importantly, both were clutching their chests in agony and gasping for breath, even if one didn't necessarily need to breathe.  
  
"Yugi! Yami!" Anzu cried out as she forced herself to move despite the oppressive cold and dark. There was a thump from behind her as the door to the kitchen swung open. Anzu ignored it in her flight to the closest of the two. Falling to her knees at last beside Yugi's shaking body, Anzu reached out and gripped his shoulders in each hand, leaning forward over his back and pulled him closer to her. "What's wrong!? What is it?" She choked out stifling the sobs that threatened her coherency.  
  
"C-c-cold...h-h-hurts." Yugi stuttered though the pain as his teeth clattered together.  
  
"Wh-what's happening? Yami's visible too!" Jounouchi gasped as he rolled off the couch to his feet. Seeing that Anzu was checking on Yugi, he turned to Yami, unsure if he could help a spirit but willing to try. In two strides he was beside Yami. Jounouchi dropped onto his knees in front of the spirit. "Y-yami?" He reached out tentatively, unsure what he could do to help, before dropping his hand to the carpet again. He glanced over to Yugi and Anzu, his face pale and afraid. "Anzu, w-what...?" Anzu just shook her head, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly as her blue eyes filled with unshed tears, frustration at her impotency to help visible on her face.  
  
/Y-yami...w-what's....it hurts....h-h-help me.../  
  
Yami distantly heard Yugi's desperation, but it was so hard to hear him. What was going on, how could he have trouble hearing his Aibou's voice. He reached for their link hoping to strengthen it and help his light somehow. The moment he touched the link with his energy, agony beyond what he had felt before ripped through his body. Fire raced through intangible nerve endings, sending signals to his mind that his body was in pain, even if he had no physical body at the moment. Freezing cold and searing heat flushed through him in waves that crashed and fragmented into magical shrapnel that tore into his soul and he was sure he was being ripped apart from the inside out. A rush of pain and fire****** bubbled up through his throat, thawing his lungs from the freezing cold that had kept them from moving. Yami shuddered in agony, throwing back his head and screaming in pain, his fists clenching against the carpet as he struggled to hold himself up. His elbows buckled under the force of his shudders and he pitched forward, unable to halt his fall.  
  
Jounouchi reacted automatically, without thinking of the futility of trying to catch a spirit. He lunged forward, his hands darting out and under Yami's chest to catch him before he took a header to the carpet. Only, Yami never reached the carpet. Jounouchi caught him and shifted his grip to his shoulders, pushing him up to a sitting position and supporting his leaning form against his shoulder and chest as he shuddered uncontrollably in pain. Then Jou blinked, and stared, then he shouted.  
  
"Yami! I can feel you! You're physical!" Then Jounouchi blinked again, and added, "Well, sort of." Jounouchi shifted his grip on Yami's loose, collared, black shirt to throw an arm over his shaking shoulders and slide his other hand beneath his chest to support him as Yami doubled over again in pain. He tried not to think about how weird Yami's form felt to his skin. It was like trying to hold onto static electricity packaged in a human shape and held together by an envelope of air dense enough to have form. It was making the hair along his arms and on the back of his hands rise up. He could swear he heard the same sort of crackle you get from pulling apart clothes that have static cling as Yami shifted against his shoulder.  
  
Yami lifted his pain filled, red-hued gaze to Jounouchi and tried to focus through the pain. Before he could even try to react to that news, the pain redoubled, and he arched his back, another scream ripping from his throat. He was sure it was inaudible so he had no qualms about screaming as loudly as he felt like doing. Until there was a clattering of feet from the staircase and Honda and Otogi sprinted into the dimly lit living room, looking ready to kick the crap out of whatever was attacking Yugi to make him scream like that.  
  
"Yugi! Wha... Yami!!?" Honda shouted as he skidded to a halt, Otogi nearly crashing into him from behind. They both stared shocked beyond words at what was going on in the living room.  
  
"O-onii-chan, please do something, please help them!" Shizuka sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks at the sight of the two teens writhing in pain on the floor. Mai was clutching her by the shoulders, her own face pale and her eyes wide in fear and helplessness. Kaiba stood stock-still, staring in shock at the presence of both Yugi's at the same time and unable to bring himself to act in any way. Mokuba clung to his shirt with desperation and terror in his eyes. Bakura had pressed himself back against the coffee table behind the armchair and was watching with horrified, panic filled eyes, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Anzu hovered over Yugi, having pulled his shuddering, gasping and wheezing form almost into her lap. Her tears were leaking from the corners of her eyes as she helplessly stroked the back of Yugi's head in a soothing gesture, while staring in horror at Yami writhing in front of Jounouchi.  
  
Then abruptly Yami wrapped both arms around his stomach and pitched forward across Jou's knees, screaming in agony. Jounouchi barely caught him before he smashed his nose against the carpet on the other side of Jou's legs. At the same moment, Yugi arched his back and threw back his head, screaming in pain as he clutched both hands to his temples. Anzu cried out and grabbed him by either side of his ribcage before he could fall onto his side on the ground. As she tried to steady him, Jounouchi gave a horrified yelp. Anzu whipped her head around to stare at him in confusion. It took her brain a moment to register the reason he had cried out.  
  
Yami's pale, washed-out body was stretching and warping in a horrifying manner. The only thing Anzu could liken it to was chewing gum being pulled and stretched. What terrified her the most, was that if stretched too far, chewing gum had a tendency to break.  
  
"Y-y-yami! Pull yourself together!" Jounouchi gasped as he grabbed Yami's shoulders in a death-grip, determined not to let go if it could help Yami. He lifted his eyes up and locked gazes with the first person he saw, Kaiba. "Damnit Kaiba! Don't just stand there staring you jerk! Help me!" Jounouchi cried, a note of desperation in his voice.  
  
Seto jolted and lifted his eyes from Yami's distorting figure to focus on Jounouchi's face. He stared; his shock was so complete that he was uncomprehending for a moment of Jounouchi's request. Then he seemed to give himself a mental shake, and then nodded. "A-aa."  
  
Seto gently disentangled Mokuba from his shirt and then strode forward to Yami and Jounouchi. He dropped to one knee beside Yami's blurring form and hesitated unsure what he could do. Taking the logical approach to an illogical situation, he noticed that where Yami's form was touching Jounouchi it was fairly stable. So, deciding that contact with a wholly physical person would stop the distortion, Seto reached out and gripped Yami's right arm above the elbow and threw his left arm over Yami's lower back and made a fist in the shirt at Yami's left side. He had to force himself not to flinch at the strange electrical prickling sensation he felt from Yami's form. As long as the mutt wouldn't flinch, neither would Seto Kaiba.  
  
Even as Seto gripped Yami he could feel the smaller ex-Pharaoh's body shuddering in pain as his body continued to distort. Very faintly, Seto could feel something, pulling at him through his contact with Yami. It was hard to describe, a sort of tugging and dragging sensation, pulling at something deep within him that he had never realized was there, until he had had it ripped away from him and sealed away into a card back in what seemed almost another life ago. It clicked suddenly. His soul. Something was trying to pull Yami's soul away.  
  
Yami thrashed violently and Seto nearly lost his grip on him as another pain filled cry was ripped from his throat as his legs were stretched and seemed to twist before snapping back to their normal shape and size. Kaiba growled inaudibly in his throat. Something was trying to deprive him of the only rival worth having; of the only being he respected enough to consider him to be his equal in strategic intellect and gaming prowess; of the only person strong enough to challenge him and drive Seto to succeed and improve. No power on this Earth could try to deprive Seto Kaiba of something and get away with it. Whoever was doing this would suffer, he would see to that. Seto tightened his grip on Yami's arm and shirt and focused on that tugging sensation, fighting against it and pulling back against it as well. The stretching diminished and for a moment stopped as Yami slumped over Jounouchi's arm, eyes wide and unfocused. Seto smirked; this interloper didn't stand a chance against the strength of Seto Kaiba.  
  
Yugi had collapsed against Anzu, whimpering in pain as his hands fisted in his hair and pressed against his temples, as though to stop his skull from splitting down the center. Honda and Otogi had joined her and hovered uncertainly over Yugi, afraid to touch him and hurt him, but unwilling to sit back and watch. Mai and Shizuka stood frozen behind the couch, uncertain what they could do to help and afraid to get in the way. Mokuba had latched onto the next closest person who happened to be Honda. Bakura was shivering violently in fear, as he clutched his knees to his chest so tightly his knuckles were white. Deep within his soul room, the king of thieves was shaken to his core. Anything powerful enough to cause such suffering to the pharaoh-yo was more than a match for someone the pharaoh had always been able to wipe the floor with, not that he would ever admit that out loud. And whoever it was had been searching, and might just decide to search again, and this time find a certain white-haired thief. Ryou's own fear wasn't helping his state of mind either.  
  
"Y-yugi, are you going to be okay?" Anzu asked, her voice quivering with unspoken fears and unshed tears. Then her breath caught in her throat as the greenish light flickered and then intensified, bringing with it a chill wind that seemed to come from no where, yet pushed steadily towards the hallway.  
  
/M-mou hitori no boku...w-wha.../ Yugi opened his eyes from his position practically across Anzu's lap and struggled through the pain to focus on his Other who was only a few feet away being supported on either side by Seto and Jounouchi.  
  
//Aibou...// The agony of feeling the waves of hot and cold power pulling him in two different directions had faded when Yami had felt Kaiba's iron- hard will pulling him and grounding him in the living room. He lifted his right hand and reached for Yugi who was facing him from across Anzu's lap. Yugi reached out with his own hand for Yami's, fighting the strange wind to reach him.  
  
"What the..." Seto began as he raised his head to face into the freezing wind as it picked up and pushed his body backwards and tugged at his clothes. At that moment, both Yami and Yugi screamed as though their very souls were being torn to shreds. Yami doubled up in agony as his body stretched and twisted in the wind while Yugi threw himself backwards away from Anzu and screamed towards the ceiling, his eyes shut tightly against the pain as he gripped his temples. Seto tightened his grip on Yami and then nearly fell into Jounouchi's lap as his semi-physical body became insubstantial. Seto barely caught himself from falling as he shuddered when he felt part of Yami pass through his chest. Jounouchi was not so lucky. He fell over completely and yelped in shock as his head hit the carpet. He was faster to recover than Seto though, as he sprang up to his feet and lunged for Yami. Yami, being insubstantial again, was now floating and was being dragged by the wind towards the wall separating the living room from the hallway, his form distorting and beginning to blur. Yami scrabbled for purchase on something but his fingers would not grip the carpet and slid right through the armchair. Jounouchi snatched at his wrist but his hand went right though Yami's arm and for an instant his arm blurred as though it was smoke Jou had passed his hand through.  
  
//Aibou!!// Yami screamed mentally, his voice revealing his desperation as the wind picked up and howled in his ears, obscuring the cries of his friends. He was thrown backwards into the air like a leaf caught in a storm wind. As the wind grew louder, his vision faded until he could no longer see the stricken faces of his friends, or his Aibou screaming in pain as they were torn apart.  
  
"/Yami!!/" Yugi screamed mentally and physically in response to the faint mental shout from his darkness that reached him through the tearing, splitting pain that filled his body. Then something seemed to shatter deep within him and he screamed as his consciousness fell into emptiness.  
  
"No!!" Jounouchi cried out in horror as Yami was caught up by the wind that licked chillingly past his ears and tugged at his blue t-shirt. Yami was about to slam into the far wall when his see-through form faded away into the darkness as though he had never been there at all.  
  
"Yami!!" Yugi's cry snapped Jounouchi's attention to the other half of the soul that was his best friend. Jounouchi started to get up to his feet from where he had fallen onto the carpet when he saw the Millennium Puzzle hanging around Yugi's neck flash with a brilliantly golden light, so bright that for an instant it overpowered the sickening green light that flooded the room. Then it pulsed with golden yellow energy that rippled outward and pressed against Jounouchi's chest hard enough to make him take a step back. When he recovered and dropped the arm that had shielded his eyes, Jounouchi heard a sharp 'Crack' sound. He focused on the source of the noise and his eyes widened.  
  
The Millennium Puzzle, pieces still glowing with a fading golden power shattered violently and the pieces tumbled to the ground in a starburst of shining pieces. Yugi Mutou crumpled bonelessly to the ground and lay still.  
  
TBC  
  
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* I'm not sure what time Japanese schools have their summer breaks but I'm fairly certain that it's a shorter break than schools in America have. So I'm going to arbitrarily say Domino High school gets out June 28th and starts back up September 4th.  
  
** I know Jounouchi is his last name but since everyone calls him Jounouchi I'm going to treat that as his first name. Since Shizuka is his sister, I'm going to use Katsuya as her last name. If everyone has a huge problem with that then let me know and I'll change Jounouchi to be their last name. It's just less confusing to call her Shizuka Katsuya than Shizuka Jounouchi because the word 'Jounouchi' is always referring to Jou.  
  
*** I'm not certain what sort of things Japanese teens have for sweets and party treats and junk food so I'm going with stuff I'm familiar with. My apologies for unauthenticity.  
  
**** Yami Bakura, Vindictive Defender of the Kitchen! Umm okay, I was full of caffeine and it was late when I wrote that. Don't hate me. o_o; I tried to keep it sort of in character, that he would be upset that someone else was stealing from the Thief King.  
  
***** Jounouchi is easily spooked by ghosts, and spirits and pretty much anything supernatural and creepy that doesn't pertain directly to duel monsters or yamis. I figure he's probably somewhat sensitive to spirits, which is why any mention of them makes him go pale and nearly panic. Maybe he had a bad experience with a ghost when he was little. ^_^  
  
****** The fire is metaphorical. Not real fire, he's not turning into a tiki torch. It's just so painfully hot that it feels like fire. Poor Yami.  
  
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Well, there you have it. My first attempt at a fanfiction, let alone a HP/YGO crossover. Don't worry, I'll be updating again. Might not be really soon, I have some other things to take care of before I can devote a lot of time to this. Let me know what you think of it, and what you think I can do to improve on it. Oh and do not expect all or even most chapters to be this long. I got carried away because I didn't want to bother to think up more than one chapter title right now. Really though, 31 pages should probably be like five two-thousand word chapters, but I just didn't want to break it up.  
  
I had a lot of friend interaction in this to show how things are like when everyone's relaxed and there's no crisis. And to give poor Yami a break, he wont be back with his buddies for a while after this, had to give him some good times to tide him over till reunion time.  
  
Yami: -_-;; //I feel so loved.//  
  
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?: Psst, hey you.  
  
?: Yeah, I'm talking to you.  
  
?: See that purple button down there  
  
|  
  
\/  
  
?: Yeah, that button. That's me.  
  
P.Button: Go on, push me.  
  
P.Button: Do it! Come on! You know you want to.  
  
P.Button: See, that wasn't so bad. ^_^ 


	2. Ch 2: Picking Up the Pieces

Hum dee dum. I lied.  
  
Disclaimer: Yugioh and Harry Potter still don't belong to me. I'm working to correct that. Shh. Don't say anything. ^_- I also don't own the M&M trademark, though they're fun to eat. This story is purely for enjoyment and produces no revenues or money of any kind; therefore I have nothing to give you should I be sued.  
  
My Notes: (I am the author after all)  
  
Well, here we go again. I am determined to make this shorter than last one, simply because I wont go insane if I use smaller chapters. Damnit, shorter yes, but still longer than I had intended! Grrr. Those conniving Bakuras! This is all their fault, Yami Bakura wouldn't shut up!  
  
Feel free to email me with hints or tips or suggestions. No flames please, my house is quite flammable.  
  
I fixed the problem with anonymous reviewers. You shouldn't have to sign in or have an account to review my stories now. Rejoice all ye lazy and/or un-accounted peoples! I'll rejoice too cuz now I get more reviews. YAY! ^_^  
  
Did anyone have trouble figuring out which Bakura was talking or acting? Do you think I need to be more specific? Do you think anyone was way too far out of character? I tried to keep them true to their characters, while taking into consideration that two years have passed since the AE Memory RPG story arc. Y. Bakura is probably going to be the most out of character character. This chapter is testimony to that.  
  
I'm not sure when Harry and co. are going to show up, might take a couple of chapters depending on where I decide to stick the first Harry scene I have in my head. He might show up in this one, not sure yet cuz I haven't written it yet. We'll see by the time I post this.  
  
Just so you all know, I have no idea how big this story is going to get. I know how it's going to end, and I have plenty of cool scenes and ideas in my head but I gotta figure out ways to string them together. Which, if last chapter is any indication, could cause massive chapter inflation.  
  
If anyone wants to, feel free to create fanart for my story. Unfortunately, I have nowhere to post any such fanart. However, if you have a place to put it, let me know where it is and I'll direct readers to it. Unfortunately, I seem to have no discernable talent for drawing; therefore, I will not even try to subject you to my poor attempts should I ever make any.  
  
I feel so loved! *sniffle sniff sob* So many wonderful reviews and it hasn't even been more than a few days yet!  
  
Anyway, here's chapter two. Enjoy. ^_^  
  
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Harry Potter and The Advent of Darkness  
  
Ch. 2: Picking Up the Pieces  
  
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Seto Kaiba had a plan. A great plan. In fact, his plan was perfect. All it required was the proper implementation. In fact, if he were to write his plan down, it would go something like this:  
  
Step 1: Wake up diminutive duelist.  
  
Step 2: Assist diminutive duelist in reassembling funky gold puzzle, if said duelist even gives him enough time to assist before said funky puzzle is repaired.  
  
Step 3: Ascertain presence, or lack thereof, of pint-sized rival.  
  
Step 4: Use global resources to track down perpetrator of pernicious act.  
  
Step 5: Assuming aforementioned lack thereof, determine location of aforementioned perpetrator's possession of aforementioned pint-sized rival and proceed to liberate. Assuming continued presence of said rival, skip to step 6.  
  
Step 6: Proceed to punish and painfully defeat aforementioned perpetrator.  
  
Step 7: Hold aforementioned perpetrator down while aforementioned rival administers personal brand of justice to perpetrator until perpetrator is no longer able to pose a threat.  
  
Step 8: Laugh at aforementioned perpetrator's plight and proceed to make a dramatic exit with aforementioned rival.  
  
Suffice it to say, Seto Kaiba was furious. Without proper implementation he could not complete the plan. And unfortunately for Seto, for once, he had no idea how to proceed with implementation. In fact, currently he was unable to even fulfill step 1 of his plan, let alone step 4.  
  
Domino Hospital, 4th Floor, July 10th, 10:05 am.  
  
Seto Kaiba pushed open the door to Room 426 and walked in like he owned the place. Sometimes being a rich and influential CEO had drawbacks. Like this morning when his major shareholders had insisted on keeping the pre- arranged meeting at 7:00am to discuss the proceedings of the concurrent expansions into England and France of Kaiba Corporations. And sometimes, he added as he glanced around the room, being rich and influential had advantages.  
  
The hospital room, originally designed for six patients, had been re- arranged and re-decorated upon Kaiba's explicit orders. The previous occupants had been moved into different rooms, and chairs and end tables from the closest waiting room had been moved into the room. The five extra beds had been pushed closer together and toward the back end of the long room to make room for the additional furniture. Only two of the beds were currently occupied.  
  
Jounouchi Katsuya was sprawled on his back on one of the beds that had been moved, snoring almost soundlessly with his mouth wide open. His bed was the closest to the only bed that had not been moved. He was still wearing the dark blue jeans and light blue and white t-shirt from last night. His sneakers were on the floor beneath the bed. Strangely enough, the collar and shoulders of his blue jacket were visible beneath the light hospital blanket draped loosely over his body. The other four beds looked slept in, but not made.  
  
The sixth bed was more or less centered in the room, up against the wall across from the door. Morning sunlight streamed in through the cracks between the blinds, illuminating the figure slumped over the end of the bed. The figure lying in the bed lay in alternating, distorted bands of pale gold light and soft shadows.  
  
Anzu Mazaki sat in one of the waiting room chairs, leaning forward onto the foot of the bed, her arms folded beneath her head as she faced away from the door and towards the bed's occupant.  
  
"Shh. Don't wake them Kaiba-san. Anzu-chan just fell asleep an hour ago." Shizuka spoke up softly from where she sat in another armchair beside the left-hand wall of the room.  
  
Seto glanced over to her and nodded. "Aa." He walked over to the foot of the bed and frowned down at the figure under the sheets.  
  
Yugi Mutou lay quietly in the bed. There was no movement of his eyes beneath their lids to indicate dreaming, nor was there any twitching or stirring to indicate the return of consciousness. His face was pale; lacking its own color, it took on the gray-blue of the shadows or the pale gold of the sunlight instead. Aside from the steady rise and fall of his chest beneath the sheet and the quiet steady beeping of the heart monitor beside the bed, he might as well have been a corpse.  
  
Kaiba's eyes narrowed slightly. It did not fit him. He had never, in all the time he had known him, seen the shorter teen so...so...inanimate. Yugi had always read like a book. Whether it was happiness, sadness, fear, or confident determination, Yugi had always expressed his emotions to anyone and everyone. He had always been in motion of some kind, always moving forward in some way. Nothing had ever deterred that motion, until now. It did not fit him. Seto's fist clenched.  
  
"She's been up all night. Even when the rest of us slept, she stayed by his side." Mai spoke up softly from Kaiba's right.  
  
Seto glanced over to her and grunted softly. "Hnh." Then turned away from the bed, his sleeveless white trench coat flaring out slightly as he walked away from the bed and approached the cluster of waiting room furniture. "Has there been any change?"  
  
"No, nothing." Honda growled, plunging his fist into the padded arm of the couch he was sprawled on.  
  
"Doctor Ishida came by half an hour ago. He and Doctor Morizoku both agreed. There's nothing wrong with him that they can see from any of the tests they've run. No reason for his state at all." Otogi spoke up softly from the armchair facing Shizuka's, the couch to his right against the wall. He turned his head to face the bed to his left and gritted his teeth. "No damn reason." He hissed between his teeth, his hands clenching at the ends of the armrests.  
  
"Kaiba-san, where is Mokuba-kun?" Shizuka asked in an almost-whisper, looking up at the tall teen with worried green eyes.  
  
"He went to the estate to search for any relevant news on what happened last night." Seto replied, his voice low, but his blue eyes held a hint of concern that his little brother was currently out of his sight.  
  
"Your house? Couldn't you have searched on your laptops from here?" Mai asked sounding confused. "I thought he would have come back with you."  
  
"I have a highly advanced computer system located at the estate. It would produce far more sophisticated search results than any laptop could." Seto replied matter-of-factly. "Mokuba went there in the limo instead of staying during that meeting those ... people ... insisted I attend." Kaiba hissed the last part. It wasn't politic to insult the major shareholders no matter how asinine they were. "He should be back before noon. Once he's given the computer system instructions, any information it discovers can be relayed to my laptop."  
  
"Well, that's something at least." Otogi spoke up. "Did you see Bakura out there?" He indicated the hallway.  
  
"No." Seto glanced around the room. "I assumed he was in here."  
  
"No. He left to get some coffee about fifteen minutes ago. He should be back soon, don't you think?" Otogi said, turning to face Honda.  
  
"Aa. Unless...you don't suppose...his yami took control." Honda frowned, starting to look concerned.  
  
Shizuka frowned. "Why would Yami Bakura-san come out at a time like this? Do you think he is concerned about Yugi-san?"  
  
"No. That guy isn't like that. He doesn't care about anyone except Ryou, and that's only because he needs his body to get around." Honda scowled. "He's probably off gloating over what happened last night." He growled as he glared at the wall across the room.  
  
"H-honda-san, aren't you being a little cruel? He wouldn't be so mean. How could Bakura-san stand his yami if he was so awful?" Shizuka stammered, looking unsure and confused.  
  
"Hunh. I don't think Ryou has much of a choice in the matter Shizuka-chan. That guy has always been bad news, right from the start. I wouldn't put anything past him. For all we know he had something to do with this." Honda gestured angrily towards the bed.  
  
"Hey now, come on Honda. I know I haven't known either of them as long as you have, but Bakura wouldn't let his yami do something like that. I mean, I know that yami of his is no prizewinner when it comes to being nice, but you don't really think he was involved in that, do you? Besides, Yugi believed in Bakura. He trusted him, didn't he?" Otogi asked, frowning at Honda as he noticed Shizuka's distressed look.  
  
"Aa, he trusted Bakura, but that yami of his isn't the sort of guy anyone should trust." Honda frowned turning to Otogi.  
  
"Oi. Quit talking like that. Yugi isn't gone ya know. Don't talk about him like he isn't going to wake up." Jounouchi growled as he sat up in his bed. "And that was before, you know. Stop talking bout Bakura like that. You were there too." He scowled as he slid out of the bed to his feet. Jounouchi stretched before padding across the room to them, his socks muffling his feet.  
  
"Yeah, I was there too, and so were you. You saw him then, didn't you? Even then, that guy was a real bastard. He probably is off gloating right now over what happened to Yami. You know he's always hated him. How do we know he didn't help out somehow last night." Honda growled getting to his feet and staring Jounouchi down.  
  
"That was before, things are different now. You know he's not the same as when we first met him. Anyway, Ryou trusts him enough to keep him around and so does Yugi; that should be enough. Besides, he hasn't really tried anything serious in nearly two years. Give the guy a break, Honda. If Malik can have a second chance, then he can too. He may be a bastard sometimes, but he's no evil incarnate." Jounouchi shot back, locking gazes with his friend and daring him to deny it.  
  
"Fine." Grunted Honda. "I still don't trust him though." Jounouchi glared at him. "But I wont call him on it. We'll see if he deserves that second chance or not." Honda sighed and turned away, sitting back down.  
  
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Domino Hospital, 10:06 am.  
  
The sound of running water echoed through the white tiled bathroom.  
  
::Stop that, its not helping.::  
  
Ryou Bakura lifted his eyes from the sink to look into the mirror. His reflection stared back at him, eyes slightly puffy and red around the edges, the hair framing his face damp and his bangs dripping water to join the droplets clinging to his skin. He blinked and the face in the mirror shifted slightly. Dark brown eyes, glinting with reddish light replaced his own as his darker reflection's hair lifted from his scalp, water no longer weighing down the insubstantial strands.  
  
::You think this is going to help? Che.:: Ryou's reflection sneered back at the pale haired teen. ::Stop being so weak. Poor little host, crying your eyes out like it'll make a difference. It never does you know.:: Yami Bakura growled at him.  
  
:I-I d-don't want to lose anyone. W-what if he doesn't w-wake up? What if Yami's g-gone forever?: Bakura shot back, tears threatening to start again.  
  
::You really are a moron aren't you.:: Yami Bakura growled. ::You honestly think that spiky-headed fool is just going to roll over and give up? If it was that easy, I certainly wouldn't be in this bathroom watching you cry your eyes out, now would I?:: He scowled, frowning as his eyes went distant for an instant.  
  
:N-no.:  
  
::I didn't think so. Now stop wasting time. We've got better things to do than try to fill a sink with your own personal waterworks.::  
  
:I-is there anything w-we could do? To, y-you know, help them?: Ryou asked hesitantly, unsure of the reaction he would get.  
  
::Who knows. But we certainly won't find out, rotting in this bathroom, now will we?::  
  
:Y-you mean you'll help?: Ryou asked hopefully a hint of disbelief in his voice.  
  
::Idiot. You honestly think I wouldn't try to figure out what the hell is going on here? Anything that can do that to the pharaoh-yo is a threat to me. If I hadn't set up those defenses against intruders, it would have found me too, and then you'd be laid up in a hospital room too; and me...I'd probably be in whatever predicament that idiot is in right now, minus the ring shattering of course, but still. You know, for such an all- powerful son-of-the-gods, he sure can be stupid.::  
  
:W-what do you mean?: Ryou asked uncertainly.  
  
::Stupid, Ryou, lacking intellect. That's what it means. I can't believe I could never defeat him if he's such a fool that he doesn't even keep defenses against attack. I knew he had an inflated ego, but I never suspected it was that big.:: Bakura grumbled to himself. ::But that's beside the point. That power could attack again, and next time we'd be the target, it seems to have a penchant for yamis and their little hosts.::  
  
:B-but what can we do, we don't know anything.: Ryou asked, confusion and despair rippling down their link to his yami.  
  
::We know some things. You need to use your brain more and your tears less, idiot. Whatever it was, it seemed a lot more interested in the resident ex-mummy than in the puzzle. After all, only the mini-pharaoh can put the damn thing together. It's no good to anyone in pieces, except maybe when pawned. On top of that, it'll only work for the owner if they win it in a game, I should know. Since you were too busy being scared out of your wits, let me fill you in. There was no game involved last night, no shadow magic either. Whatever happened last night, it wasn't after the Millennium Items, just the yamis in them.::  
  
:W-what does that mean yami?: Ryou asked.  
  
::How the hell should I know?! I'm just telling you what we know, not what we don't. It could mean any number of things. For all we know some stupid mortal was holding a séance and asked for a pharaoh.:: Bakura snorted.  
  
:Even if we know this, what can we do yami?: Bakura asked, worry creeping through to his darkness.  
  
::Simple. Probably the most basic rule any good thief has to follow; strike first. If you don't, then you're the one being stolen from.:: Bakura smirked at his other half.  
  
:But yami, we wouldn't even know where to strike. Besides, its already too late for that, we've already been attacked. Yami and Yugi ...:  
  
::I meant us, not them. That power doesn't know about me, which gives us the advantage of surprise. Of course, if we stay in here so you can mope, it'll be a moot point. That power will probably strike again and this time we'll both be paying for reacting instead of acting.:: The reflection of his darkness scowled back at Ryou from within the mirror. ::Now get yourself moving and go back to sleeping-beauty's room. If I'm going to find out what happened, we'll have to question your little friend. Pharaoh- yo too, once the puzzle's put back together. The more we know, the better prepared any strike we make will be.::  
  
:Aa.: Bakura reached out and turned off the faucet. He dried off his face and hands with a paper towel and turned to look at his reflection, once more his own, in the mirror. Judging that he looked as normal as currently possible, he tried out a smile. Ryou nodded, then turned and picked up the tray of coffee cans* sitting on the counter before leaving the restroom.  
  
A few minutes later as he walked up to the door to Room 426, he discovered that it is impossible to open a door without hands. Therefore, he resolved to knock, with his foot no less. Just as he was balancing on his left leg and aiming with his right he heard a familiar female voice raised in surprise.  
  
"...Bakura-san stand his yami if he was so awful?"  
  
Bakura blinked in surprise and hesitated, foot still poised.  
  
"...think Ryou has much of a choice.... That guy has always been bad news,.... I wouldn't put ... past him. ...he had something to do with this." Honda's voice, filled with suspicion, was unmistakable even through the door. Deep within him, Bakura felt his darkness shift uneasily.  
  
:Y-yami ...:  
  
"Hey now, .... I know I haven't ... long as you have, but Bakura wouldn't let ... something like that. I mean, ... of his is no prizewinner ... being nice, but you don't really think ... in that, do you? ... , Yugi believed in ... trusted him, didn't he?" Otogi's reprimanding voice reached Bakura's ears as he set his right foot down upon the white linoleum floor. Despite the words, Bakura could detect an anxious note hanging on the end of that question.  
  
"... trusted Bakura, but that yami ... isn't ... anyone should trust." Honda's angry voice replied.  
  
:Y-yami, I-I'm sure its just ...: Bakura started.  
  
::Don't patronize me.:: Bakura flinched as his darkness's voice snarled out at him. ::We both know it's the truth. Never trust a thief, let alone the greatest of them all. Everyone should know that by now.:: Despite his yami's words, Ryou could feel a mix of conflicting emotions through their link. Buried deep within, Ryou could detect just the barest hint of the pain that spawned them. Ryou searched for something, anything to say to that. But before he could, Jounouchi's voice touched his ears.  
  
"Oi. .... wake up. .... Stop ... bout Bakura like that. You...."  
  
"Yeah,.... You saw him then,.. ..guy was a real bastard. He probably ... gloating ... what happened to Yami. ... always hated him. How ... know he didn't ... last night." Honda growled back at the slightly sleepy voice.  
  
::Heh, he's got me all figured out, doesn't he, my little landlord. I am the Darkness after all. It's my purpose in life to see the pharaoh-yo suffer in every way possible, after all. Everyone knows that.:: Yami Bakura's voice cut sharply into Ryou's mind.  
  
:Y-yami. That ... that's not true. H-he's wrong.:  
  
::I said stop patronizing me!:: Ryou flinched as his yami's shout lashed out through their link. He could feel his darkness's anger and resentment flare straight through to his own heart. Ryou clenched his fist; he refused to back down, not on this.  
  
:I-I'm not yami. ...I trust you.: Ryou's whisper flowed down their link to his yami, accompanied by a flood of emotions, jumbled, but resolute. Yami Bakura shifted slightly within his mind, but said nothing.  
  
"... things are different ...not the same as ... first met him. ... Ryou trusts him ... so does Yugi; ...enough. Besides, ... hasn't ...tried ... two years. Give the guy a break, ... Malik ... a second chance, then he can too. ... be a bastard ... he's no evil incarnate." Jounouchi's voice, more coherent this time, spoke up again.  
  
:I'm not the only one either yami.: Bakura added softly.  
  
"....don't trust him though." "... wont call him on it. ... deserves that ...chance...." Honda's voice filtered through, sounding resigned.  
  
:Yami?: Bakura sent, worried that he hadn't heard anything from his other yet.  
  
::What the hell are you waiting for, idiot?! The coffees are getting cold.:: Yami Bakura sneered from his soul room.  
  
:A-are you all right ...?: Bakura asked, concerned at this change.  
  
::Che, our questions wont get answered out here you know. Besides if I'm going to have any fun teaching that interloper not to mess around in the Thief King's territory, then we're going to have to hunt it down first. And that requires going through this door and facing all your little buddies. So quit stalling and go in already.:: Bakura grumped as he settled back in his light's mind.  
  
:Un.: Bakura smiled slightly before turning once again to the door.  
  
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"Stop that, both of you." A stern voice reprimanded. "Do you think fighting about each other is helping anything?" Anzu scowled at Jounouchi and Honda as she sat up and turned to face them. "We're all upset, but that's no excuse for turning on our friends. If anything, we need to stick together right now. We need to be ready for whatever happens next. We can't do that if we're at each others' throats."  
  
"A-aa." Honda nodded looking abashed as he dropped his gaze, unable to meet Anzu's blue eyes. "B-but ...grrr ... I hate this!" Honda snarled slamming his fist into his palm as he whirled to face the bed. "Just waiting! I hate feeling so helpless. I just ... I want to do something about it! If only ..."  
  
"Hey man, I know how you feel. But until the bastard that did this shows his cowardly face, we can't beat his ass down. We don't even know if Yami is okay or not. Last night .." Jounouchi trailed off, his hand resting on Honda's shoulder. "We have to wait for Yugi to wake up. We need to know for sure before we find that guy." He finished turning to the others with determination in his eyes, daring them to gainsay him.  
  
"Jounouchi-kun is right. We need to know more about what happened before we can act. And we can't leave Yugi-kun alone right now, even if we knew where the villain is. The way he is right now, it would be dangerous to leave him alone. Even my yami agrees. There could be another attack while we were gone hunting that enemy down." A soft voice spoke up from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Bakura nudging the door closed with his hip as he balanced a tray full of coffee cans in his arms.  
  
Bakura smiled slightly and held up the tray. "I brought drinks for everyone." He paused, glancing at the bed and lowering the tray as his expression fell. "There's no change?"  
  
"No, no change." Mai spoke up, watching the small figure in the bed with veiled purple eyes.  
  
Ryou frowned slightly and sighed. "I had hoped ... while I was gone ..."  
  
"We're all hoping Bakura-san." Shizuka smiled at him as she took the tray from his arms and set it down on one of the waiting room end tables. "Anzu- chan, maybe you should try to get some more sleep. We'll be quiet this time." She smiled at the brunette girl as Anzu leaned back in the chair beside the bed, running a hand through her hair.  
  
"No, its alright Shizuka-chan. I-I want to be awake when Yugi wakes up." Anzu smiled over at the smaller girl, the hair on the right side of her head was pushed up and to the side awkwardly from sleeping on her arms.  
  
"Un." Shizuka nodded before taking a seat in her own armchair again. Seto grunted and claimed the armchair in between Shizuka's and the couch. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back as he eyed the two by the bed as Anzu shifted her chair closer to Yugi's head and surreptitiously slipped her fingers around his.  
  
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Warmth. It was the first sensation that registered to his mind as he hovered in a vast empty darkness.  
  
'Where was it coming from? Everything was so cold. It had always been cold ... hadn't it?'  
  
He shifted slightly in the darkness. 'It hadn't always been cold ... had it?' He was sure he could remember when it hadn't been cold. When there had been something other than darkness and cold. If he just tried hard enough, he was sure he would remember.  
  
Maybe, maybe if he opened his eyes he would remember. When had he shut them? 'Had they always been shut?' All was darkness, there was no need to open eyes in the darkness. But, he wanted to open his eyes; he wanted to see. He was sure there was something he needed to see. 'But what?' He stirred within the darkness, struggling to open eyes that refused his commands.  
  
'What was that?' A voice, there was a voice, somewhere. 'Whose voice? Who is that?' Who was there in the darkness with him? There hadn't ever been anyone with him before. He had always been alone, ... hadn't he? 'No, that's not right. There were others. There had been others. He had not been alone, had he? 'Why am I alone now?'  
  
Warmth. It wrapped around his hand. It seemed to travel up his arm, infusing him with strength. The cold was chased away. It fled from his body, draining out of him as the warmth suffused him. 'There.' On his face as well. Light, touching his eyelids. There was light.  
  
'Was the darkness leaving?' Fear shot through him at that thought. "Why? Why am I afraid of losing the darkness?' He wasn't sure, but he knew it was important. There was something ... something he needed to remember. 'But what?'  
  
He struggled to move now. Everything was so difficult, like moving through molasses. He fought against the lethargy. He needed to see, to remember.  
  
'Wait.' There was something. He could almost remember something. He struggled harder; he had to know. Then, as if a wall had shattered before his mind's eye, he could see despite the darkness. He could remember.  
  
He had not been alone. He had never really been alone. And for years now, he had never felt so loved and wanted before in his life. He could remember everyone he cared about, and who cared about him. He could see them. Their smiling faces. Everyone.  
  
His grandfather, his purple eyes lighting up as he smiled at him as he walked in through the door when he came back from school.  
  
His mother, a smile lighting up her face as she checked on him before bed each night.  
  
Anzu, her blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight as she waved from the bus stop, calling to him so he won't miss the bus. Anzu, opening her eyes and smiling up at him as she woke up from her duel with the evil penguin, her eyes lighting up with joy at seeing him. Anzu, concern filling her eyes as she pleaded with him to be careful as he walked through the doorway that would take him to the portal to Atlantis.**  
  
Jounouchi, his brown eyes sincere as he promised him that they'd always be friends, no matter what, in that tunnel during Death-T before stage 4. Jounouchi, a big grin splitting his face as he asked him to strike, reassuring him that there were no hard feelings and that they were still friends.***  
  
Honda, a thankful smile on his face as he stood up and thanked him for trying to protect him, but willing to face the consequences for the love letter puzzle in Ms. Chono's classroom. Honda, ensuring he was safe, even at the cost of his own safety in Death-T-3, smiling to reassure him.****  
  
Bakura, smiling gently as he offered himself as a sacrifice to save him and the others from his yami. Bakura, smiling weakly but happily as he met his gaze and telling him that he's never had friends like them before.*****  
  
Mai, trying to hide her smile behind her hand from across the campfire. Mai, turning back to give him a thumbs up and a wink before leaving the arena. Mai, smiling and laughing with Shizuka as she hugged Jounouchi and grinned at everyone from the hospital bed.******  
  
Otogi, looking up with wide green eyes, unable to believe he still wanted to be friends after everything. Otogi, cheering him on from the sidelines.*******  
  
Seto, glancing back for a moment, thanking him for helping to save him from the virtual world. Seto, blue eyes meeting his gaze as the rock platform touched down, surprise registering on his face at his taking up his duel for him. Seto, a familiar smirk lifting the corners of his mouth as he saluted from the cockpit of his dragon jet and told him he'd send them a message when the American Kaiba Land was finished.********  
  
Mokuba, smiling hopefully up at him as he promised to stop Pegasus. Mokuba pleading for help with tears in his gray-blue eyes to save Seto from the Big Five. Mokuba's grinning face as he jumped out shouting 'Surprise! Happy Birthday Mokuba!'  
  
Shizuka, green eyes bright as she smiled at him, taking in every bit of the scene, able to see at last. Shizuka, smiling as she laughed at Jounouchi's antics.  
  
And Yami. Yami, deep purple eyes wide in surprise and touched with dismay as he insisted they had to keep their minds separate to win. Yami looking up as his hand caught Yami's and lifted him up to stand in his new memory room to see all their friends there, still urging him not to give up. Yami, looking on in alarm and fear, unable to prevent the dissolving of his limbs and torso into the darkness. Yami, eyes softening as he smiled when he promised to be Yami's Aibou forever. Yami, the pharaoh, looking up in surprise as he floated next to him, offering his hand and his own soul's power to summon Ra to defeat Diabound. Yami, the pharaoh, lifting his head, meeting his eyes as he stood between the Evil God and his fallen Other, the pharaoh.*********  
  
Yugi could remember again. All of them, all of his friends, his family. The darkness and the last clinging vestiges of the cold fell away to light and warmth. As he felt himself rising up to the surface, towards the warmth, a thought struck him. 'What happened?'  
  
And then it all came rushing back to him. Mokuba's party, the strange sensation, the pain! Yami, his pain filled eyes locking with his own, his hand reaching for Yugi's. The wind that came and the pain, the searing loss! Yami's voice, so faint and fading...  
  
"Yami!"  
  
Yugi's eyes snapped open, his body lurching up from its prone position, hand reaching for the familiar weight of the puzzle.  
  
His hand grasped empty air, his fist landing against his chest. Yugi blinked blearily at his surroundings, trying to force his mind to understand where he was.  
  
"Yugi!" A chorus of happy, surprised cries filled his ears as he realized he was in what looked like a hospital room, except for the extra furniture. He was suddenly glomped by two slender arms from his right as a brunette head buried itself against his shoulder. He was nearly bowled over by the force of the hug.  
  
"W-what? Anzu?" Yugi gasped his cheeks turning red when he realized who had grabbed him.  
  
"Oh thank God! We were so worried." Anzu's muffled, choked whispers reached his ears faintly. Anzu pulled back a second later and smiled brightly at him, her eyes closed to hide the gathered tears that her voice had given away.  
  
The moment Anzu pulled back, Yugi found himself tackled from his left, and if not for a black-haired blur of energy that threw its arms around him from the right, he would probably have ended up on the floor.  
  
"Yugi! You're alright! C'mere you! You had us all worried!" Jounouchi practically shouted as he grabbed Yugi in a friendly hug/headlock and proceeded to give him a light noogie.  
  
"Aaaack! Jounouchi-kun ... gah! Stop that!" Yugi gasped in surprise, trying to be heard over the exclamations of everyone else in the room as he squirmed in his best friend's over enthusiastic welcome back.  
  
"You idiot! Cut that out before you strangle him, Jou!" Honda laughed as he tried to drag Jounouchi off of the pint-sized convalescent.  
  
"I'm so glad you're okay Yugi-kun!" Mokuba grinned up at him as he released Yugi from the spontaneous hug he had given him. "Ni-sama's glad too, right?" Yugi glanced down to the end of the bed where Seto stood, looking aloof.  
  
"Hn." Seto grunted, glancing at Yugi. His deep blue eyes betrayed the relief that his mouth refused to acknowledge. Yugi smiled back at him. Seto 'hmmph'ed under his breath and glanced sharply away to the corner of the room as though it held the secret of life within its pale shadow.  
  
Yugi felt a weight settle onto the foot of his bed. Peering out from under Jounouchi's arm as Honda and Otogi pried him off of Yugi's head, he could see Mai and Shizuka had settled one on either side of the bed.  
  
Mai grinned and winked at him. "Good to see you're feeling better Yugi. You were starting to have us worried."  
  
"Aa. We were all worried Yugi." Bakura spoke up from behind Anzu as Otogi nodded from behind Jounouchi, beside Honda.  
  
"Un. You are feeling better, right Yugi-san?" Shizuka asked, her green eyes gentle with concern.  
  
"Aa. I don't hurt anywhere if that's what you mean. But ..." Yugi glanced around at everyone and at the empty table beside his bed. "Where's my puzzle?"  
  
TBC  
  
//-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------//  
  
Dum dum dum!  
  
Where indeed? 0_0  
  
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//----------------------------MWUAHAHA! Just kidding I'm not that evil.---- ---------------//  
  
"Aa. I don't hurt anywhere if that's what you mean. But ..." Yugi glanced around at everyone and at the empty table beside his bed. "Where's my puzzle?"  
  
"Uh ... um." Jounouchi paused, hesitant.  
  
"Yugi, the puzzle broke." Anzu said softly, apprehension tingeing her voice.  
  
"Aa." Jounouchi concurred.  
  
"W-wha-what?" Yugi asked, his voice quivering with barely restrained fear.  
  
/Yami?! Yami!? Mou hitori no boku!!/ There was no answer. No reassuring sensation of his Other's mind in the back of his own.  
  
"D-don't worry Yugi! We picked up all the pieces. We checked the whole place twice to be sure." Jounouchi hurriedly assured as he saw the growing alarm and fear on Yugi's face. Quickly he reached up and unzipped the blue jacket he had been wearing all this time. "I kept them safe for you so you could put it back together." He added as he reached under his shirt and pulled out a lumpy drawstring pouch from around his neck that clinked softly.  
  
"You should probably start putting it back together Yugi." Bakura spoke up then. Yugi glanced up at him. "Don't worry, we'll wait." Bakura smiled down at him understandingly.  
  
"W-we tried to put it back together. But, none of the pieces would stay together, even if they looked like they might fit. Bakura said it was because only you can put it together." Anzu spoke up, looking apologetic.  
  
"Thanks you guys." Yugi smiled gratefully up at them as he took the proffered pouch from Jounouchi. Shifting on the bed to sit cross-legged under the sheets, Yugi up-ended the pouch and spilled out the glittering golden pieces into his lap. Soon the room was filled with the soft clinking of metal pieces as everyone took a seat to wait for its completion.  
  
The minutes ticked by on the large wall clock, playing a steady counterpoint to the clicking of the puzzle pieces as they slid into place.  
  
Contrary to the first time Yugi had completed the puzzle, this time the minutes flew by as the pile of golden jigsaw pieces once again assumed the form of a pyramid. It seemed as though the third time's the charm as the puzzle's completion progressed apace. In less than half an hour the puzzle was nearly complete.  
  
"Nearly done Yugi?" Jounouchi questioned from his perch on the edge of the bed at Yugi's left side.  
  
"Un. Just this ..."  
  
Click. Clink.  
  
"And give this a turn like that."  
  
Clack. Clink.  
  
"And then this one ..."  
  
Clink.  
  
"And then the last piece here.... Hey, Jounouchi, this one always seems to be the last piece I put in." Yugi smiled fondly as he turned the puzzle over to show the large hole in the side of the puzzle where the eye piece should go.  
  
"Aa. That's the piece I gave back to you in the very beginning, huh Yugi?" Jounouchi grinned, speaking softly to not disturb the other whispered conversations around the room.  
  
"Un!" Yugi grinned brightly up at him. Turning back to his puzzle he reached into the pouch to pull the last piece out.  
  
His hand kept reaching.  
  
"I-it-it's missing! The last piece ... it's missing!" Yugi's face paled in horror as his violet eyes went wide in alarm as he frantically scanned the bed and sheets and even the floor beneath the bed.  
  
The empty black eye of the Millennium Puzzle stared back sorrowfully at him as Yugi hugged his arms to his chest and tried to stifle the panicked sobs as he bent forward over the puzzle in his lap.  
  
TBC [For real this time.]  
  
//--------------------MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I'M EVILER!!!!!!----------------- ----//  
  
* He got them from a vending machine. In Japan they have vending machines with almost anything in them, hot or cold. Some even have underwear for sale in them. 0_o  
  
//--------ALERT!! SPOILERS FOR MANGA AND ANIME ARCS BELOW--------------- -------------------------------READ AT OWN RISK!!--------------------------- -----------------//  
  
** The duel with the penguin took place during the Noa arc in the anime. The penguin was actually one of the Big Five from Kaiba's company who was trapped in a virtual reality cyberspace world. If Anzu lost, the penguin member of the Big Five would have taken her body for himself. During the duel, if you lost life points your body was frozen in ice bit by bit. Anzu won, but passed out after, and woke up to Yugi taking care of her after the ice had been removed from herself. During the Doom arc, Atlantis rose from the ocean and the villain, Dartz, went through a portal in the Doom temple that led to Atlantis. Yugi, Seto, and Jou followed in order to defeat the giant Orihalcos God serpent that was keeping everyone's souls hostage. Anzu stopped Yugi before he entered the portal to talk to him. He was going to switch to Yami, but Anzu told him he didn't have to because she wanted to talk to Yugi, and tell him to be careful and come back.  
  
*** In the manga, Kaiba set up a Death-T tournament of games that Yugi had to go through to save himself and his friends from Kaiba and his henchmen, as well as get justice for Kaiba having put his grandfather into the hospital. It had 5 levels and in 3rd he thought Honda had been killed by Kaiba's evil giant tetris game. At that time he hadn't acknowledged Yami's presence and would black out whenever Yami took control. His friends also didn't know about Yami. Losing Honda made Yami start to take control, but Yugi fought it, afraid that if Jou and Anzu knew about the 'other person' inside him they would leave him. They noticed something wrong and got him to confess about the 'other him' and his fears. Jounouchi told him that even if there was another Yugi, they'd always be friends. In the anime during Duelist Kingdom, the finals were Yugi vs. Jounouchi. Yugi and Yami didn't want to finish Jou off because Jou was fighting for his sister's chance at eyesight again. But Jou reassured them that it was okay, and he had no hard feelings about losing to Yugi and Yami.  
  
**** In the manga Honda had a crush on a girl named Miho. He bought a puzzle that you write a love letter on, break up into its pieces, and give to the object of your affection from the Kami Game Shop and had Yugi write it because he was so nervous. Jou slipped it into Miho's desk but a mean teacher found it and demanded to know whose it was. Both Yugi and Jou claimed they wrote it and put it in the desk respectively, and the teacher planned to expel them both. Honda stood up and claimed it was his note on it in order to get them out of trouble for his sake. During Death-T level 3, Honda got his jacket caught under a giant tetris block and couldn't escape. Instead of trying to free himself, he chose to make sure Yugi got to safety before the exit was blocked.  
  
***** In Duelist Kingdom, the first encounter with Yami Bakura ended when Ryou, who was sealed into the Change of Heart card, took over Yami Bakura's monster and told Yami and Yugi to attack him to end the duel and save the souls of everyone else who were also trapped in monster cards. Mwuahahaha! That last part is from part of my own imagined ending to the AE arc. Dunno how it really ends yet. If you're good little reviewers I'll write it in later in full as a flashback. ^_-  
  
****** Mai shared food with them during Duelist Kingdom around a campfire. Mai was defeated by Yami/Yugi in Duelist Kingdom and told him they'd definitely duel again and to be ready to do his best against her next time. Mai and Shizuka played a trick after Battle City by Mai pretending not to have woken up when Yami Malik was defeated. Jou thought her soul had been lost and everyone was upset till Mai started laughing and hugging Jou, teasing him about being worried about her.  
  
******* After the Dungeon Dice Monsters mini-arc Otogi was surprised that after having made Jounouchi wear a dog costume and having accused Yugi of cheating, Yugi still wanted to be friends with him. Just some duel during Battle City where Otogi was on the sidelines cheering.  
  
******** At the end of the Legendary Heroes virtual world arc Seto sort of thanked Yugi for coming to save him from the Big Five. During the Noa arc, Seto was defeated by Noa in a duel that ended in Seto being turned into a statue. Yami/Yugi challenged Noa to finish the duel with him in Seto's stead because Seto had chosen to forfeit the duel by summoning the blue eyes instead of sticking with the twilight zone dragon in order to make Mokuba break free from Noa's brain washing. Noa agreed thinking there was no way they could win but he lost and Seto was released from the statue state. When he woke up and saw the floating platforms they had dueled on descending he was confused and surprised that Yugi had stood up for him like that. At the end of Battle City/Tower, Seto leaves for America to open a new Kaiba Land and reclaim the dream of a gaming paradise for under- privileged kids that he lost when fighting Gozaburo Kaiba to get control of Kaiba Corp. As he flew off in his Blue eyes white dragon shaped jet, he saluted Yugi and friends and told him they were going to America and would send for them/send them a message when Kaiba Land was completed.  
  
********* During Duelist Kingdom when Yugi proposed the Mind Shuffle plan. During the Noa arc when Yami/Yugi was battling Noa, all his friends were turned to stone and Noa was trying to get him to give up because he had lost everything. Then Yugi appeared before him in his mind and took him into his soul room to show him a new door that had appeared. This was a new memory room that had been made since Yugi solved the puzzle. Inside were all the spirits/memories of their friends who told him not to give up and to keep dueling because they believed in him and in that he could win. During the finals of Battle City/Tower, Yami Malik set up a shadow game where as life points were lost, their other halves were devoured by darkness, piece by piece. Before AE in the manga, Yami was worried about what would happen after he got his memory back. He was worried he would return to the afterlife, or nothingness or something and was sad to think of losing Yugi and everyone. Yugi told him that until the time came that they would part he wanted to be his Aibou forever. In AE arc, pharaoh had used up all his power to summon Osiris to stop Thief King Bakura's Diabound, and Osiris was defeated badly wounding pharaoh. Then Yugi's spirit arrived and told him that he had the other half of pharaoh's power in him and they linked hands to tap into Yugi's power and summoned Ra to defeat Diabound. During fight in AE arc with Evil God Zoku, pharaoh is badly wounded and falls to his knees. He can't keep Mahaado's [Dark Magician's] monster form in the real world anymore and has no more defenses. Zoku is about to crush him when Yugi, Jou, Anzu, and Honda fly in and land in front of him to protect him from Zoku.  
  
//--------------END MANGA/ANIME SPOILERS------------------------------------ ----------// //-----------------------------Its safe now, you can look------------------- ------------------------//  
  
Okay, I swear this chapter was hijacked. That whole middle part is not at all what I started out to do in this chapter. Hard as it is to believe, I think the Bakuras and Honda and Otogi teamed up to steal the show and get more page time. Then the Bakuras and Honda kicked Otogi out. I think I went overboard with Y.Bakura. I really think he's out of character in this chapter but I couldn't get him to shut up. Eventually I'm going to explain why I have his character changed so much, but I don't know if everyone will agree that it's a good reason.  
  
Hehe. I just couldn't resist making you think I stopped there, where he's asking where his puzzle is. It's such a perfect evil cliffhanger line.  
  
Well, looks like Harry didn't make it into this chapter either. We'll see about next chapter.  
  
Harry: "I sure hope so, so far you have a disclaimer for stuff you haven't even used yet."  
  
I swear I tried to make this chapter shorter. I really did. But then there was the hijacking. And Yugi decided to do some soul floaty stuff when all I had planned at first was his hearing whispered voices and waking up to see his friends. Oh well, 8,235 words is shorter, comparatively, than ch. 1 is.  
  
Anyway, that purple button is down there for a reason. Please review. All you people without accounts can review now too.  
  
See you later people. This time for real, don't expect a chapter so soon. My fingers are getting sore from typing so much.  
  
Ja ne! ^_^ 


	3. Ch 3: What The Boy Saw

WAAAAAAH I lied again!! Now you'll never trust me!!! I'm so awful!!!  
  
*sob, sniffle, whimper*  
  
Hermione: There, there, I'm sure they won't hate you just because you posted again sooner than you said.  
  
Ron: Yeah, 'Mione's right. If they do, then they're all brainless gits. [Hi Mom, lookit me! HA!! In your faces Fred, George!! Told you I'd get in this fic by the third chapter! You owe me three galleons! *Ron crosses his arms and looks smug*]  
  
*Fred's voice from off page* This doesn't count!! It's not even the story!!  
  
*George's voice joins his* Yeah, we don't owe you till you get in the actual story this chapter and I don't see that happening!  
  
Ron: It does so count!!  
  
Molly Weasley: What!? How dare you boys wager on this nice girl's story! Arthur, this is all your fault, letting them gamble at the Quidditch Cup and now this!  
  
Ron: Eeeep!  
  
*Arthur Weasley's voice from off page* Now, boys. Your mother's right. It's not polite to make bets on the outcome of the story.  
  
Ron: Does that mean I don't get my money? But what about Harry!? He already bet that he'd meet those two spikey haired blokes from Japan! There's no way he's losing that bet!  
  
Hermione: Ron! Don't drag Harry into this!  
  
Ron: But, Hermione! It's not fair!  
  
Harry: Huh, what? Did someone say my name? Am I on yet?  
  
*sniffle* No not yet. We still have to do the disclaimer.  
  
Harry: Oh, okay, I better go get in my place then. C'mon Hedwig.  
  
Hedwig: Hoooo-hoot.  
  
Disclaimer:  
  
I claim no ownership of Yugioh or Harry Potter. Don't own Naruto or Fushigi Yuugi either. If any of the characters should happen to mysteriously vanish from their current owner's possession...I was never there. ^_~  
  
More of My Notes:  
  
MERRY CHRISTMAS!! FELIZ NAVIDAD!!! HAPPY HANUKAH!! MERRY KWANZA!!  
  
You get the picture. ^_^  
  
Alrighty. Just to let you know, its been a while since I read the Harry Potter books so I may be a bit out of character for them all. Plus I may make some mistakes on what's happened during the 5th book because, to be honest, I was a bit disappointed in it. But it did provide ample opportunities for my imagination to get carried away and help to moosh Yugioh and the Harry-verse together. So, I'm going with it for the most part. I may alter Bill Weasley's romantic status a bit because I tend to think Isis and an elder Weasley brother would make a cute couple. And, well, Charlie is off in Romania with the dragons, so I can't conceive how he and Isis would know each other. Or maybe it'll just be a friendship between Isis and Bill. Not sure yet, we'll see what Isis and Bill have to say about it. Assuming they survive this chapter. ^_^  
  
Anyway, since it's been a while since I last read Harry Potter, so I may make a few mistakes on what's happened in the past. If I have, please let me know in a non-pyrotechnic manner so I can correct it or explain my reasoning behind my alteration. Same goes for spellings of places and or names.  
  
Also, time differences between Japan and England. I checked on a globe and saw that Japan is about halfway around the world from England, but not quite. Now since I do not know the exact difference between England and Japan, I'm just going to be arbitrary. From now on, in my story world, England is 12 hours earlier than Japan. If you don't like it, too bad. =P You're not the author of this fic. =D  
  
Oh, yeah, Honda was being such a jerk last chapter because he was frustrated. His good friend, who might not have woken up, was laid up in the hospital for no apparent reason; someone or something put him there; and Honda couldn't do anything to prevent it, stop it, or make it better. He was frustrated, angry, and took the first outlet for his anger he could find. Which happened to be Yami Bakura who he already didn't trust much at all because of all the past times Yami Bakura tried to hurt Honda and Yugi and the others.  
  
Ah, why make chapters shorter? Simple! So I can give you more of them, faster! Now isn't that a good reason. ^_^  
  
Oh yeah, Harry's birthday is in July, Dudley's is sometime before summer break. Harry is turning 16 this year.  
  
Anyway, here's chapter 3. Enjoy!  
  
//-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------//  
  
Harry Potter and The Advent of Darkness  
  
Chapter 3: What The Boy Saw  
  
//-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------//  
  
Number 4 Private Drive, England, Ex-spare Bedroom, July 9th, 7:12 am.  
  
The whole neighborhood, Number 4 included, was just beginning to wake up and greet the day. Well, everyone who considered themselves a welcome part of the neighborhood at least.  
  
Early morning sunlight streamed in through the un-shuttered window and spilled onto the bed of the reclaimed spare bedroom and its single occupant beneath the rumpled covers. A tortured groan arose from the hapless victim of the sunny morning, followed by a grunt as he attempted to maneuver to a sunless position.  
  
Any further attempts at pretending dawn had not come were shattered by a shrill voice accompanied by pounding on the closed door.  
  
"Get up! Stop sleeping, you lazy boy! Hurry and get dressed." Petunia Dursley's high-pitched voice drilled through the boy's refuge behind the door and under the covers, making him wince as his forehead gave yet another sympathetic throb.  
  
Harry Potter groaned as he sat up from beneath the covers. His green eyes were bleary and reddened from lack of sleep. His normally unruly black hair was even more rebellious than usual, the loser of last night's fight with the pillow.  
  
The Boy-Who-Lived was certain that he would be a prize contender for the Undead of the Century Pageant if there happened to be such a thing. He had not been able to sleep last night.  
  
It was not his scar searing him with pain that kept him up. No, nothing so commonplace for Harry. Instead, he had found himself tossing and turning all night. Every time he would approach the threshold of slumber, he would once again be bombarded with foreign sensations. Feelings not his own.  
  
The half-taught lessons in Occlumency he had suffered through with Professor Snape had helped somewhat. No images had accompanied these sensations, and no foreign presence had intruded upon his mind. But that did not stop the emotions from leaking across to him. And it was these very emotions that had caused him to suffer a sleepless night. Or rather, the effect they had on him. Because these were not the ordinary emotions he felt from the strange link he shared with his nemesis through his scar. No, these emotions were the kind that made his stomach churn and his spirit writhe in distress so deep it was instinctual.  
  
Voldemort was happy.  
  
In fact, very, very happy. So happy, he was broadcasting his excitement and anticipation like a radio beacon. It was enough to make Harry want to hurl. As far as Harry was concerned, there were only three reasons Voldemort could possibly be this happy.  
  
1. Voldemort had finally realized his desires for world domination stem from a psychological desire to be loved, and had gotten himself a girlfriend.  
  
2. Voldemort had finally given up on becoming a dark wizard and had found his true calling as a born-again-hippie flower shop owner. Or ...  
  
3. Voldemort had a plan. And it was working perfectly. And it was sure to be a doozy for the Order of the Phoenix.  
  
Harry was pretty sure it was number three. And that meant trouble for the wizarding world and the Order of the Phoenix. Trouble that Harry could do nothing to stop.  
  
Harry Potter had once again been holed up at the Dursley's since his school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had let out for the summer. Granted, his current state among the Dursley's was somewhat improved upon last summer, due mostly to the sendoff the members of the Order had given him at the train station. Essentially, the Dursley's pretended he didn't exist unless necessary. Even his cousin, Dudley Dursley, had stopped bullying him ever since the incident with the members of the Order. Now he took measures to avoid running into Harry, with or without his gang.  
  
Of course, this did not exclude Harry from doing the chores, and any other menial tasks the Dursleys could come up with.  
  
"Get your lazy self out of bed, you ungrateful child! Duddikins will be up soon and you had better not undercook the eggs in your haste, trying to make up for your slugabed ways!" Aunt Petunia's voice shrilled through his door, making the veins in Harry's temples attempt to claw their way into his skull to escape.  
  
Wincing in pain, Harry rolled out of bed and attempted to find his glasses on the bedside table. Pulling them on, he glanced across the small room to the large empty owl cage. Hedwig wasn't back with the morning post yet.* Sighing, Harry got dressed and headed for the bathroom. As he passed Dudley's room he could hear his cousin's elephantine snores, and guessed that if he put his hand to the door he would feel it vibrate in its frame. Slugabed indeed.  
  
A short time later, Harry entered the kitchen, hiding a yawn behind his hand. Aunt Petunia was cooking toast. Beside the waiting frying pan stood the half-gallon of I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Eggs-(Diet) liquid scrambled eggs. Aunt Petunia had decided it would be best to alter the dieting routine in order to keep up a façade that Harry was not being malnourished. Harry's previous state of near starvation would not have gone over well with Mad Eye Moody, Tonks, Remus, and Mr. Weasley should it have been discovered. Supposedly, the egg replacements tasted just like real eggs but with a quarter of the nutritional value. Harry wouldn't know, it smelled funny before being cooked, and looked rubbery afterward, regardless of how they were prepared. The first time Harry had seen them he had resolved not to touch them with a ten-foot pole, let alone his fork. Dudley seemed to share his sentiments, but he ate them anyway at his mother's, and doctor's, insistence.  
  
Shortly before Harry had finished cooking the hazardous material, Uncle Vernon and Dudley entered the kitchen and proceeded to fill up the remainder of the spare space around the table. Dudley by far, outstripped his father in that department.  
  
As Harry squeezed himself into the small portion of his side of the table not yet conquered by Dudley's girth, Aunt Petunia turned her beaming gaze upon her son as he stuffed his face with the grapefruit half that accompanied the non-egg mass on his plate.  
  
"Duddikins, I know you're upset at your father and I for not buying that latest toy for that trading game of yours on your birthday, so to make up for it, we've planned a special outing just for you today."  
  
Dudley eyed his mother warily, certain she was trying to distract him to prevent him from getting his prized gadget.  
  
"Your mother's right Dudley, my boy. You're sixteen now. Time you picked out an automobile for yourself. Only the finest for my son, you know. We're taking you out to a first class automobile dealership in London. I'm good friends with the assistant manager of their London branch. Robert Harrington will give us a personal tour of the floor models, and we'll help you pick out the best auto on the lot." Uncle Vernon proudly beamed at his son from across the table, who was looking extremely pleased with himself at this news.  
  
Harry had to hold his breath and bite his tongue to keep from collapsing in laughter. Dudley, in a car. It would have to be able to double as a boat to allow Dudley's massive girth to fit inside, let alone into the driver's seat. As it was, he took up two, sometimes nearly three seats in Uncle Vernon's latest company car.  
  
Uncle Vernon glared at Harry as the boy turned slightly red in the face as his shoulders shook. "Here now, what's this! Are you choking boy! Trying to get attention I suppose. Stop that at once, it certainly won't work on us. Sit up straight and finish your breakfast. I won't have it said we starve you just because you refuse to eat a proper meal!" Uncle Vernon barked at Harry.  
  
"He's not coming is he? I won't have it! I won't! He'll just ruin my special day!" Dudley began, fake tears threatening, as he turned red in the face and pouted at his mother.  
  
"Of course not, Duddikins!" Aunt Petunia cried, wrapping her bony arms around Dudley's nearly indistinguishable neck. "He won't spoil things at all. I promise. Your father has decided to leave him here while we're gone."  
  
"What! But he'll break my things! He's always breaking things; we should leave him with Mrs. Figg." Dudley smirked at Harry, knowing how batty Mrs. Figg was, but not knowing she was a witch that Harry would not have minded visiting. Harry caught himself starting to smirk back. He stifled it quickly, not wanting the Dursleys to know he didn't mind visiting Mrs. Figg anymore now that she didn't have to pretend to be a crazy old lady who made his visits unpleasant so that the Dursleys wouldn't stop having him stay with her.  
  
"He had better not." Uncle Vernon grumped, glaring at Harry. "You had better not touch anything while we're gone, boy. Stay out of Dudley's and our bedrooms. And don't go outside either." He growled at the bespectacled youth.  
  
"I'm sure he'll destroy my cards, father! He's always been jealous of my having them! It'll be just the opportunity he's been looking for!"  
  
"Now, now, Duddy. We'll stop on the way home and buy you many more of those trading cards you like so much. In fact, we'll buy you some of the latest, rarest ones from that store you like so well." Aunt Petunia crooned to her darling little boy.  
  
"Well, I suppose its all right then." Dudley frowned crossing his pudgy arms over his massive torso as far as they would go. "But, without that new dueling system from Kaiba Corporations, I don't know how I'll be able to properly face Piers. He's already got one. I should have one too!" Dudley scowled at his parents.  
  
"Now Duddies, we discussed this already. Those duel pan things are so very scarce right now. You know we've been looking everywhere for them since before your birthday. Everywhere is sold out before we can get a chance to put one on layaway. As soon as we get word that there is one available, we'll be sure to buy it for you my dearest." Aunt Petunia soothed, in her thin, reedy voice.  
  
Harry tuned them out as he quickly ate his slices of toast, liberally slathered with marmalade. He didn't really care much what they bought Dudley, so long as it meant they'd be out of the house. He really needed to go back to bed. Harry hadn't been getting a good night's sleep for weeks now. Not since ... well, not since he came back to Private Drive. His dreams usually woke him up, if fear of having those dreams didn't keep him from falling asleep in the first place. He'd be glad of a day to himself, without the Dursleys around to keep him from relaxing and trying for some shut-eye.  
  
It wasn't long before the Dursleys had finished their breakfasts and were soon hurrying to leave for their day trip. Harry saw them to the door, and was given one last tongue lashing from Uncle Vernon on what not to touch in the house.  
  
As soon as they were gone, Harry retreated back to the welcome solitude of his room and shut the door firmly behind him. As he slumped against the door, blinking his eyes in an effort to remove the last vestiges of exhaustion from his sight, Harry heard a soft, familiar hoot from behind him within his room. Turning around, Harry smiled warmly as he saw a friendly face, er beak.  
  
Hedwig perched contentedly on the top of her cage, a folded newspaper in her beak. Harry crossed over to her and stroked the soft white feathers of her head after accepting the paper. She nibbled affectionately at his fingertips before spreading her wings for balance and hopping down to perch on the headboard of his bed. Harry offered her an owl treat before settling down on top of his blanket. He briefly considered writing his routine three-day letter to the Order, more specifically to Remus Lupin, before unfolding the Wizarding Times newspaper and scanning the pages.  
  
With any luck, there would be nothing more exciting than an article on Percy's cauldron bottoms investigation.  
  
Harry sighed. Luck was not with him today. It seemed the Death Eaters had struck again. This time it seemed Voldemort was having aspirations of internationalism. Two days ago, five muggle security guards and one museum curator had been murdered with the killing curse in the underground storage facility housing the majority of the artifacts for the Egyptian Archaeological Artifacts Preservation Department of the Natural Museum of Cairo in Egypt. There was a lot of collateral damage, but from initial reports nothing had been stolen. No suspects had been seen or heard, let alone caught. It had to have been Death Eaters though, who else would use the killing curse six times just to break into a museum storage room and, apparently, break stuff.  
  
Harry frowned contemplatively. What was Voldemort doing, sending Death Eaters to Egypt? What sort of plan was he working on? What could he want from an Egyptian museum warehouse? He knew the Order would have already gotten this information, so there was no need to include it in the letter he planned to write later today, but still, it was unsettling. Especially so on top of the happy bubbly feeling he kept feeling from Voldemort's mind whenever his thoughts wandered.  
  
Harry wished fervently for a large mallet with which to knock himself out so that he could get some untroubled rest. This was just making his head hurt as he tried to ponder the inner workings of a madman's mind.  
  
Deciding he needed rest more than knowing what other bad news the paper held for him, Harry shut the blinds and flopped back onto his bed. Kicking off his shoes and pants, he crawled under the covers and prayed sleep would find him.  
  
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England, July 9th, 10:05 am.  
  
It was cold. Cold and wet. Harry shivered as a stiff breeze lifted the sheets of rain and battered them against him. He opened his eyes to an unfamiliar, yet hauntingly reminiscent scene.  
  
There was no sun. Dark, almost black, storm clouds covered the sky for as far as he could see. There was no light. Not even the gleam from a distant window pierced the gloom. Somehow, Harry knew it was not night. Somehow, a storm had come up, so fierce that it darkened everything for miles around, creating an unnatural night.  
  
He could barely see into the gloom of this place. Rain poured down in sheets, thick and harsh, blurring his sight of everything around him. The stinging droplets struck his skin. Harry had to squint to make out anything around him. Oddly enough, through the rain and gloom, what he could see he could see rather well. However, he wasn't wearing his glasses. For a panicked moment he thought they had fallen off and broken. Then Harry remembered; he had taken them off right before falling asleep in his bed. He was most definitely not in his bed anymore.  
  
Harry turned around in a complete circle, peering searchingly into the gloom. He could barely make anything out through the driving rain. Glancing down to his feet, he could see he stood several inches deep in mud and muck. Lifting his foot from the ground, he saw he left no footprints behind. So, he wasn't really here, was he? But he could feel every raindrop as it struck his skin, and he could feel the squelch of the mud between his toes.  
  
Turning back to the direction he had faced in the beginning, Harry again peered into the gloom. Faintly, he could hear something in the distance. Ever so faintly, the sound of many voices, raised in an echoing cadence, rose and fell. He could not make out any of the words through the howl of the wind or the steady rush of rain striking the ground and his body.  
  
Harry cocked his head from one side to the other, trying to determine the direction of the sound. He had to be here for a reason, and he intended to find out what it was. This time, however; Harry had no intention of acting before letting the Order know about what he learned.  
  
Finally deciding the faint voices came from almost directly ahead of him, Harry started forward through the rain and shadows. He hadn't taken more than a few paces before a dim gray shape rose up out of the indistinct haze of this place and revealed itself to him. Harry's feet came to an abrupt halt before this grim monolith. Turning once more to view his surroundings, the hazy shapes of the stone's companions began to take form and reveal themselves to Harry's searching eyes.  
  
Dozens of weatherworn tombstones dotted this nightmare landscape. Crowding close, they seemed to hem Harry in from all sides. How had he missed them before, they were all around him? Harry shuddered from more than the chill of the rain soaking his clothes. The last time he was in a cemetery came back to his mind in a rush of jumbled emotions as fear choked his throat for a moment.  
  
Faintly, the voices grew louder, more powerful, despite the distance. Harry's scar throbbed. Intense elation flooded through his body, making his soul twist in revulsion at the thought of that fiend finding pleasure in anything. Harry lifted his head, water dripping from his black bangs. He had to know what was going on.  
  
He forced himself to go on, slogging through the muddy sludge that got deeper by the moment as the rain continued to pour down. The dark forms of the grave markers of those long dead rose out of the gloom and faded away once more as he continued towards the voices.  
  
As Harry got closer, the voices became more distinct. Dimly Harry could make out a faint flickering glow coming from up ahead. As he slogged past the last of the tombstones separating the glow from his position, an imposing gray stone structure loomed out of the darkness.  
  
Harry blinked the water from his eyes as he shuddered; chill seeping into his bones. The grim mausoleum was old and weathered; ivy and dark moss clung to its sides. Slickened with rain, the ivy shivered and rattled ominously with every moan of the wind. The iron gate at the door to the crypt hung open, bent and twisted off its hinges. The heavy metal door that led to the interior of the stone building was ajar. From within, the sound of chanting was now clear to Harry's ears, accompanied by a dim flickering glow.  
  
Seeing no one outside the crypt, Harry approached the door and peered cautiously onto the scene within. Even from this close, the words being chanted were unknown to Harry. At first he thought it was simply that he could not hear them clearly. But it was soon apparent to him that the chant was indecipherable to him because it was in a strange foreign language.  
  
Within the mausoleum, there was a short entryway that opened out into a larger square space that fronted the back wall where rows of coffins rested in niches in the walls, concealed behind small metal doors that were darkened with age and disuse. However, this was not what caught Harry Potter's undivided attention.  
  
Upon the scuffed marble floor of the crypt a large design was painted in red ink of some kind. The design was unfamiliar to Harry; it did not fit the standard pentagram image so often associated with magical workings. There were four outer lines, forming three ring bands. The space between each pair of lines was filled with strange runes and symbols that wrapped around the span of the circular design like numbers on a clock. Within the innermost ring was a large open space. Inside this inner area was a large pattern made up of lines intersecting and connecting to form a six pointed star-like pattern.** It was formed from a series of four overlapping triangles, two points of each triangle touched the inner edge of the innermost ring. Where each point touched the ring, a single candle stood. The candles were set in intervals of black and blood red and each candle had the same sort of runes carved into the wax as were present on the giant sigil. Set into the center of the symbol, where the four triangles met in a single point, was a green stone. About the size of a snitch, minus the wings and flat on the bottom, the crystalline rock seemed to glow with a dim inner fire independent of the flickering candlelight. Around the outer edge of the circle, standing across from the apex of each point of the star- pattern, six Death Eaters stood at attention, their skull white masks hiding their faces from view as their voices rose and fell in the primordial cadence of a heartbeat.  
  
Almost against his will, Harry found himself drifting slowly but steadily closer, drawn to the flickering gleam within the polished green crystal. As he drew closer, mesmerized by the pulsing thrum of the chant, he began to make out a pungent, sickly-sweet scent. The scent of blood.  
  
Harry jerked back, breaking the strange lure the stone held on his mind. Blinking in momentary confusion, he focused on the scent of blood and with a sickening lurch of his stomach realized that it was not ink the runes were drawn with. Shaking his head to clear it of the unfocused fuzzy feeling that had filled it seconds before, he drew back slightly, wary of discovery by the dark wizards.  
  
As Harry glanced around himself, he realized that no one had given any sign of awareness of his presence. Then, from across the room, he heard a familiar hated voice join with the chant. Turning to face the far side of the symbol from the doorway, he saw what he had previously overlooked. Voldemort, stepping forth from the darkness, his wicked red eyes gleaming with suppressed glee as his hissing voice joined with those of his faithful, and rose above them.  
  
The chanting changed subtly as an oppressive feeling of constriction descended upon Harry. The cadence grew faster, more compelling. Harry found himself sweating with strain as he forced himself not to focus on the strange stone in the center of the bloody circle. Gasping to control his breathing, he broke away from the sight and focused on the dancing shadows to his right. There, cowering in terror at the powers being worked in this place, Wormtail crouched upon the marble floor, whimpering in fear.  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see the edges of the hideous circle begin to glow with an unearthly green light. The sickly green pallor filled the chamber, drowning out the flickering yellow of the candles as even their pale flames took on the sickening hue. A freezing wind picked up, whirling around the circle within the confines of the stone walls. The chanting became faster, more commanding now as the glow increased in power.  
  
Unable to resist the pull of the stone, Harry turned back to face the circle. The entire symbol was a vivid, poisonously glowing, green hue. The stone in the center was no longer dimly gleaming. It glowed with green fire, as bright as a beacon, calling for him to be drawn in. The wind increased in ferocity. Biting into his exposed skin and ripping at his still damp clothes it whipped around the circle of Death Eaters. Tearing at their cloaks and robes even as they struggled to continue the chant. The oppressive power pulled at Harry, it seemed to be sucking him towards the stone in the center of the pentagram. Pulling him in against his will.  
  
Harry fought against the pull even as it intensified. The chant pulsed in his ears, rising and falling with the beat of his heart as he gasped for breath. Oppressive power closed in around him, constricting and pushing him inexorably towards the glowing stone.  
  
Harry had nearly been pulled to the very edge of the circle, a few more inches and he would cross the first vivid green line. Abruptly the green stone pulsed brighter than ever before, it filled the center of the symbol with green light so bright Harry could not look directly at it. Throwing up his arm to shield his eyes, Harry attempted to make out the cause of the change even as the throbbing chant died away to anticipatory silence. Dimly within the center of the light he could make out a form of some kind. A shadow against the blinding green light. Before he could make out any general shape or characteristics, the green light was overwhelmed by a burst of golden light so strong it was a physical force.  
  
Harry was thrown backwards, away from the circle. Even as he fetched up against the wall of the mausoleum, the golden light faded and was swallowed by the green light. As Harry sat up and looked around he saw that all the Death Eaters, Voldemort included, had been thrown back from the circle as well. The green stone flashed with light, drawing Harry's attention back to it. He sucked in his breath in apprehension as the green crystal seemed to absorb all the green light within itself, getting brighter and brighter until it was unbearable to look at. Abruptly, the stone flared with power, the green energy blasting outward in an expanding radius that washed over Harry before he could even cry out in surprise. The power roared over and around him with a thunderous sound as he was picked up and tossed aside. Harry was certain the end of the world had come as everything around him shook and roared as the power blasted it apart, sending massive chunks of stone and crumbling, shattering coffins flying about in every direction. Harry saw the ground rushing up towards him as lightning and thunder cracked across the sky and the rain poured down as the wind howled.  
  
Harry shot straight up in his bed, a scream tearing loose from his lips. It took a moment for his brain to register his surroundings and even longer for his heart to stop plunging madly about inside his chest. Gasping air into his lungs, Harry clutched his sheets to his stomach with white knuckled hands.  
  
Bed. He was still in bed. He had not really been in that cemetery, or in that crypt. Even so, his shirt was soaked through with cold and clammy sweat.  
  
'Had it been just a horrible dream? No, it was far too vivid for that.' That had been another of those visions he would get, spawned from Voldemort. The question was, was it for real or was it Voldemort trying to play with his brain. Harry didn't know the answer to that, but he was not about to go charging off to search every cemetery for blasted crypts. No, but he could do something better than that.  
  
"The Order. Remus." Harry whispered determinedly to himself. "They have to know."  
  
Even as Harry wrote down every detail he could remember from his dream and sent his letter off with Hedwig to Remus Lupin, he could feel him. Voldemort. A very, very pleased Voldemort.  
  
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* Harry subscribed to the Wizarding Times newspaper to get daily info on Voldemort and his actions in my fic. He has a pre-paid subscription so Hedwig picks it up for him from the closest local owl post office every morning. [I don't remember the name of the wizarding paper Hermione usually gets in the books so I made up my own.]  
  
** For those of you who have seen it. It looks just like the third stage Seal of Orihalcos/Curse of Orihalcos [part of Doom arc], only drawn in red.  
  
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Well, there you go. Harry at last makes his appearance. I know, I know, the whole dream-vision thing has been way over done with Harry as an introduction for him. But I think I pulled it off rather nicely. What do you think?  
  
Ron: I think you purposely didn't write me into this chapter just so I would lose the wager!  
  
Who me? Nah! *discreetly accepts two galleons from Fred* I'm perfectly innocent. 0=)  
  
Ron: *grumbles* I had better show up soon!  
  
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Oh look! It's time for Reviewer Responses! YAY!!!  
  
beyblader-kai's-girlfriend: There's going to be plenty of page time for everyone's favorite albino boys. Don't you worry.  
  
Yugi actually met Yami before that in the manga, the meeting during the shadow game with Bakura in Duelist Kingdom was a way to have them meet for everyone who didn't follow the manga and/or who had never seen the first 27 episode series of Yugioh which was made by an entirely different animation company and did not revolve around duel monsters, but rather games in general. Yami was a lot darker in that series, most of the opponents/enemies he met suffered Penalty Games because they cheated or tried to hurt Yugi/Yami and/or their friends. They usually ended up dead or insane. The others didn't forget about the big Yugi-little Yugi dream, they just thought it was a dream. When they realized Yami was real and not a figment of a mass hallucination, I'm sure they remembered that weird nightmare and realized it had actually happened. Oh don't worry, that flashback is in there somewhere, just have to figure out the right place to put it. Yup, Noa is a Kaiba.  
  
SPOILER FOR NOA ANIME STORY ARC!!!  
  
He was Gozaburo's actual son years and years ago, but he died (I think a car hit him). Gozaburo Kaiba downloaded his mind, before Noa's body died, into a super AI computer Kaiba Corp. had developed for the military, which is why Noa never ages and lives inside the virtual reality world he later traps Yugi, Seto, and company in. Gozaburo adopted Seto partly because of an uncanny resemblance he had with his long dead son, Noa. I think he wanted to eventually upload Noa's personality and intelligence from the AI into Seto's body. But he gave up on that when Noa started showing signs of forgetting his humanity and thinking more statistically and emotionlessly like a computer does. After that he focused on making Seto as cold and ruthless of a businessman as possible so he could succeed him to the throne of Kaiba Corp. CEO. He seems to have done too good of a job because Seto took over the company when he was still a little kid and kicked Gozaburo out after acquiring 51% of the shares. Gozaburo then, either committed suicide or was pushed out a window by Seto [I think after threatening Mokuba]. Depends on the manga or anime.  
  
SPOILER OVER!! ALL CLEAR!!  
  
Curtis Zidane Ziraa: You'll see about Yami soon. =) You're the only one so far to have a problem with Jou as his first name. I don't think I'm going to change it though. It might be kinda confusing to some people to say his last name is Jounouchi, and then have everyone call him that like it was his first name, even if that's how it works in Japan.  
  
Soon enough for you? ^_^  
  
Dark-necrophhia666: Wow, so many conflicting responses about Jou's name. Well, I think I'm going to keep Katsuya as his last name anyhow. I fear your demons. *shivers* I'm writing as fast as I can, don't set them on me! If you do, my other reviewers might hunt you down. I don't think they'd appreciate a mangled corpse instead of an author.  
  
Hyozanryu: I'm so glad you like it. Don't worry, I'm still writing this monster. =D  
  
It'sHardToBelieve: Don't worry, I've got plenty more in store for all you wonderful reviewers.  
  
Nope Bakura isn't that evil; you'll see why he's nicer in this fic later on; assuming I ever get around to figuring out where I'll stick my flashback to my made-up end of the AE arc.  
  
JadedKatrina: I hope you get chills from reading this chapter too! I really worked on getting the dream-vision atmosphere down perfectly creepy. We'll see about the puzzle and Yami, you never know, I could make him go poof! *evil snicker* Aww, darn it, you guessed the villain of my story. How ever did you do that? *ponders innocently*  
  
JenniChan: I'm writing I'm writing but I'm afraid my fingers are going to fall off if I keep up this pace! o_*  
  
Eep, sorry, that darn eye piece ended up in the wrong place again, I had to drop by Konoha Hidden Village couple of days ago and rescue it from Jiraiya who was trying to use it to attract women to him. *shakes head at perverted old hermit ninja* Sorry you can't keep it JenniChan, gotta have it back for my story. Don't worry, you'll see what happened to it soon enough. =P Honda acts like such a jerk because he's upset and stressed and really needed an outlet for it before he put a hole in the wall, or punched a doctor, whichever came first. The first outlet he found was Yami Bakura, whom he's never really trusted, since when they first met he sent Honda to the Graveyard, and later he was obsessed with trying to steal the puzzle from Yugi.  
  
Lady Silver Dragon I: Yay! You think my fic is cool! That's so ... COOL! I fixed the won't problem! Hehe, I went into MS word autocorrect and added it. =P Hope its getting more interesting by the chapter. Yes, inspiration is a good thing, sometimes. I have too much of it, can't stop writing. Maybe if you read my fic, some of it'll rub off on you and stop bugging me all hours of the day. Yup, squiggly things showed up all right. ^_^  
  
Lizeth: Yay! Yup it is me. You like my summary? I was afraid it sucked. *looks sheepish* Oh you skimmed the conversations? I tend to put a lot of characterization in the conversations, humor too sometimes. Well I hope you like this enough to go back and read them through. ^_^ Eh, I don't think my chapters are staying balanced. Lots of anger and gloom in the last one; and now scary creepiness filling this one. Anyway, right now things are kinda gloom and doomy what with the puzzle breaking and the missing piece and the happy evil guy. [Happy evil guys are never a good thing.] Eh, you'll see I tend to interchange words a lot; landlord, host, etc. Half the time I call Seto Kaiba 'Seto' and the other half its 'Kaiba', dunno why, just sounds better in my head at certain points. Well of course Yugi's better at some things than Yami is, they complete each other so where one is lacking the other shines. ^_^ I really don't think Yami could pull off a truly effective puppy dog eyes. Oh don't you worry what I did to Yami, you'll see soon enough. ^_~ Yeah I noticed that too, Miaka in Fushigi Yuugi loves cake among other things. And Mokuba's favorite food is listed as chocolate in his profile. Ack, inspiration bug decided to glomp me during Christmas and not let go. I haven't had a chance to write up a review for HoM 8, but I can tell you I loved it! I was bouncing in my seat as I read it. =D AHHH! I'm on your favorites list! I'm so excited!!  
  
Mists(): I'm glad you like it. =) Hope these updates aren't too fast for you. =)  
  
Mwuahahahahaha!! Oh the joys of being evil! Why didn't you tell me before how good it felt Bakura! [Thief King: I can't believe you dragged me into this. -_-;;] Don't worry, you'll see where the eye piece went soon enough. I'll make you sweat and stew for a little bit first though. ^_~ Yes! Excited is good, very good. I reward your excitement with this chapter. =D  
  
Princess Krystal01: Thanks! I'm glad you like it. ^_^  
  
ruth 4 kai: Look two more updates! Yay! Don't worry, more to come.  
  
Sachi-chan: Wow, my first review ever and it's literally glowing with praise. See, I gotta wear sunglasses just to read it! =P Don't worry, there's more coming to this fic. ^_^  
  
Yup, that was quick. Its called, being insane. ^_^ Actually I think there are four Bakuras unless you count the flashback to chibi-Bakura. I was pretty worried that he was being too nice to Ryou in my fic, but I guess my worries were unfounded. =)  
  
Saiyajin no Oujo: Glad you like it. Don't worry, I fixed that. =)  
  
Shirubie: Wow, you're really putting me up there with the greats aren't you. Those are the two best hp/ygo crossovers I've seen on ff.net or anywhere for that matter.  
  
simpleinsanity: Sorry about that, it's just that Kaiba is a really smart guy, genius actually. So he tends to use big words. Plus it makes him feel superior to Jou when Jou has trouble pronouncing them. ^_~  
  
Subaru-S: Yay! Another person who likes my fic! I'm so happy. Oh, you'll see what happened to Yami, don't worry. Yeah, I tend to picture stuff in my head like it's a movie or an anime episode, and then I write what I see and hear the characters saying and doing. Um...that's not freaky is it? o_0  
  
The Mad Tortoise: Ooh! You put me on your favorites list! I'm so happy! Don't worry, there's lots more coming as soon as I find time to write it all down.  
  
You really think so? I do hope to be a professional author. I am a creative writing English major after all. Why would I cut down on chapter length? So I can bring you wonderful people more of them and faster too! Glad you hated my cliffie, its so rewarding to know one's evil deeds are under-appreciated. *evil grin*  
  
Tuulikki: Maybe a little too detailed? Should I cut down on the detail a bit? If so where? Or was that just your way of saying my chapters are insanely long? Aww, thanks! Merry Christmas to you too! Hope you like my gift of another early chapter. =D  
  
Youkai Youko: Yay! You put me on your favorites list! I'm glad you like it. =)  
  
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Once again, the purple button is calling to you. Its saying "Review, Review because you know you want to. Its fun!"  
  
Until next time! Bye bye. ^_^ 


	4. Ch 4: Westward Ho!

Well, here we go again.  
  
I haven't been writing recently, had other things to take care of. So this is why it's a bit later than I had hoped. Anyway, Harry was happy with being finally put into the story, even if he did have to get cold and wet and slog through mud. Anyhow, on to the Disclaimer.  
  
Disclaimer:  
  
I, being of sound mind (usually) and body, do hereby declare that I do not own Harry Potter or Yugioh! Therefore, if I should die, I cannot pass either on to anyone, so don't ask.  
  
Notes and More Notes:  
  
Um, did Mrs. Figg die in Order of the Phoenix? It was either in that book or in a fanfic that I read she got caught and killed by Death Eaters, but I can't remember which. If anyone remembers, let me know. Thanks.  
  
Thanks for the heads-up about the Daily Prophet; I'll change that if I ever get around to it. Maybe in a few days. *shrugs*  
  
Okay, there won't be a lot of Harry Potterness for a while yet. So far its still summer so Harry's just chillin at the Dursleys wondering when he gets to go back to the wizarding world. So expect a lot of focus on Yugi-tachi right now and for a little while. But don't worry, Harry won't be vanishing or anything, he'll pop his head out to see what's up every now and then.  
  
ACK!! I've been writing storylines and scenes for this fic on printer paper the past few days, (more lines fit when I write really tiny than on notebook paper). I've written everyone up to about a week or two into August, but this story is getting so out of hand! It's going to be huge! And Harry still isn't at Hogwarts!! And Yami hasn't even shown up once since he got blown around by magic at the party! Plus Malik intends to make an entrance next chapter. I swear I don't know how that happened. My biggest problem will probably be writing Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts once he gets there. I've got some ideas, ^_^ and they're great, but still, I gotta work my way through his school year.  
  
Another problem I've got is that I have very little confidence in my ability to write good, exciting duels. I have a few planned for all you dueling fans, but I'm not sure if I can pull them off well. I'll give it a shot but I may just end up writing opening and ending moves to them. If anyone here knows a lot about the card game and writing good duel scenes, if you want to give it a shot at helping me write the scenes, send me an email. I'd like to read a bit of what you can do with dueling scenes, so send me a bit of what you can do with a duel. Please don't put this into a review, just send me an email about it, my email is in my ff.net profile. Just a duel between two non-canon characters please. No blue eyes, red eyes, dark magicians, exodia, god cards, five-god-dragons (Legendary Dragon in English I think), Toons, etc. please. Those are rare cards in the anime, even if one blue eyes is included in every English Kaiba starter deck in real life. Only Kaiba has the blue eyes, and grandpa too; the only duelist I've seen in the anime with a red eyes is Jou, and the only other person to have a Dark Magician was not only a Rare Hunter (they were involved in counterfeiting cards), but also his DM seemed to be a different edition of the card than Yugi's. Out of whoever accepts this offer, I will choose who I feel can do the best job for what I want to happen. I will then put in my thanks and recognition of you for your help in the Notes at the top of the page, and I will also give you a cameo appearance in this fic. ^_^ There's plenty of time for you to submit offers to me, lots of chapters to go before I need a duel scene in one. Thanks in advance. =)  
  
Hmm, anyone know if its spelled Kami Game Shop or Kame? I was just writing and realized that the spelling switched on me in my head. I'll leave it at Kami for now, but if anyone knows that it's actually Kame, let me know so I can fix it.  
  
Anyway, here we go! Try not to fall off the page. ^_~  
  
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Kami = God  
  
ahou = fool  
  
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Harry Potter and The Advent of Darkness  
  
Chapter 4: Westward Ho!  
  
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Domino City, Japan, Kami Game Shop, July 11th, 1:03 pm.  
  
"Yugi, come on man, you have to eat something. The doctors said so." Jounouchi Katsuya urged as he leaned forward across the kitchen table. His brown eyes pierced into the lavender purple of his best friend's with concern.  
  
"I know. But I'm not hungry, Jounouchi-kun." Yugi Mutou responded softly as he stared down at his plate. He twisted his fingers together where they sat in his lap.  
  
"Grraargh! Damn it Yugi! You have to eat something! You haven't had anything since lunch yesterday! And you barely touched it, even if it was hospital food!" Jounouchi shouted as he bolted to his feet, knocking his chair over where it clattered against the linoleum. Yugi jumped in surprise, his eyes darting up to stare at Jou before falling back to his lap.  
  
"Come on, Yugi. It's hamburgers. Your favorite! At least try them! I may not look it but I do know how to cook. They're good, honest. Not like Bakura-kun's, but still." Jounouchi wheedled, hoping to convince the smaller teen to eat.  
  
"No thanks, Jounouchi-kun. It's really nice of you to stay and make me lunch and all, but I just don't feel like eating. I think.....I think I'm going to just go lay down." Yugi pushed back his chair and stood up.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" Jounouchi growled as he stepped around the table and pushed Yugi back into his chair. "You aren't going anywhere until you at least eat something! This isn't helping anyone Yugi! You can't just mope around and act like everything's okay, because it's not! And everyone knows it! Damn it man, we're all worried sick about you!" Jounouchi finished, his voice beginning to choke up as he dropped to one knee so he could look up at the sitting teen.  
  
"About me? But why? I'm not the one who's alone and trapped! I'm not the one who's missing!" Yugi shouted as he slammed his fists onto the tabletop making the cutlery rattle. "I'm not the one who's never failed his friend....." Yugi whispered, his voice threatening tears, as he bowed his head forward over the table.  
  
"Yugi....." Jounouchi leaned forward and rested his hand on his best friend's shoulder. "This is not your fault. Don't ever think that, Yugi. You didn't fail him. There was nothing you could do, nothing any of us could do. Kami knows we tried." Jounouchi said softly, hoping to sooth the tears he knew would come soon.  
  
"B-but, not me. I couldn't do anything; I couldn't even stand up." Yugi choked, his shoulders shaking slightly.  
  
"That's not your fault. Yami knows that, you know he does. Even if you can't talk to him right now, he knows you'd never just sit back and do nothing if there was a chance you could help him. He knows you wouldn't abandon him. Just like you know he'd never abandon you either." Jounouchi said as he patted Yugi reassuringly on the back. "I'm sure we'll find the piece. You can't give up hope Yugi."  
  
"B-but the piece, it's gone!" Yugi cried as he suddenly turned to Jounouchi and buried his face against his shoulder, his hands fisting in Jou's loose T-shirt at his sides. Jounouchi almost jumped from the sudden move, but recovered and awkwardly wrapped his right arm around Yugi's shoulders as he sobbed into his shirt. "H-how c-can it be g-gone! N-no one b-broke in to st-steal it! W-w-what if i-it was d-d-destroyed!" Yugi wailed, his voice somewhat muffled by Jounouchi's shoulder.  
  
Jounouchi stiffened and pulled back, gripping Yugi's shoulders in either hand. "Don't say that! You can't believe that!" Jounouchi gave Yugi an admonishing shake to punctuate his words. "You can't believe that Yami's gone for good. You can't give up hope Yugi! Y-you just can't!" Jounouchi bowed his head as his voice broke. Lifting his head to meet Yugi's startled, wide violet eyes, Jounouchi looked up at him with his watery brown ones. "You gotta believe there's a way Yugi. I'm sure there's a way, we just have to keep trying and find it, ya know. Just.....just.....don't give up Yugi."  
  
Yugi blinked his wide eyes and nodded so slightly it was almost imperceptible. Reaching up, Yugi wiped away the tears that leaked down his cheeks with the back of his hand and met Jou's gaze again. "Un. I won't give up, Jounouchi-kun. Yami wouldn't give up, and neither will I." Yugi nodded determinedly this time and smiled slightly at Jou.  
  
Jounouchi ducked his head and rubbed at his eyes for a second before lifting his eyes to Yugi and grinning broadly. "Heh, you better not, or I'll have to knock some sense into you like I did to Yami.* Heh, c'mere you!" Jounouchi lunged forward and grabbed Yugi around the neck, pulling him down into a hug.  
  
"Ack! Jounouchi-kun!"  
  
"Now you better try my hamburgers or else I won't let you go!" Jounouchi grinned wickedly as he tousled Yugi's hair.  
  
"Gah! I give! I give!" Yugi gasped as he squirmed out from Jounouchi's grip.  
  
"Hah! Knew you couldn't resist my cooking!" Jounouchi grinned as he flopped into the chair to Yugi's left. Yugi picked up the burger on his plate and started eating it.  
  
As Yugi finished the burger and took a drink of soda he turned to Jounouchi. "Shouldn't you go on home soon? Shizuka must be missing you by now."  
  
"Nah, Shizuka's fine. I asked Anzu and Mai to keep an eye on her; don't trust Honda or Otogi alone with her, ya know. Besides, you think I'd leave you alone right now? No way, Yugi." Jou shook his head.  
  
"Jounouchi-kun..... you guys didn't think that I'd.....I'd.....try and.....you know....." Yugi looked over at him, a concerned look filling his eyes.  
  
"What? You?..... commit suicide? No way Yugi. You aren't like that." Jounouchi shook his head vehemently. "No. We're worried that whatever attacked us on the 9th might try again. This time, it might go after you, or try to get the puzzle from you. And we figured that it'd be best if none of us were alone until we figure out what's going on. So Anzu's staying with Shizuka and Mai, Kaiba's taking Mokuba to his office with him when he goes to work, and Otogi and Honda are staying with Bakura-kun. And me, I'm bunking at your place." Jounouchi grinned widely. "Hope ya don't mind."  
  
"Of course not, Jounouchi-kun. You're always welcome over here." Yugi smiled over at him.  
  
"Good, cuz Anzu threatened to put a hole in my head if I let you out of my sight."  
  
"Anzu said that?" Yugi asked in surprise.  
  
"You better believe it. She's been worried sick about you ya know. Bet you can get a couple dates out of that." Jounouchi winked at him and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.  
  
"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi gasped as his cheeks darkened with red heat. "I don't want Anzu to sympathy dat.....er.....um.....that is." Yugi turned an even brighter shade of red and ducked his head in a vain effort to hide it.  
  
"Heeheehee." Jounouchi grinned impishly. "But you wouldn't mind a date with her, huh?" Jou teased as Yugi started to resemble a lobster.  
  
"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi wailed, unable to prevent the blush that spread across his face.  
  
"Calm down. Hehe. Don't worry, I won't spill. But she was really worried you know. She almost came over herself when I told her on the phone that you refused breakfast this morning."  
  
"She did?" Yugi asked as his blush started to fade back into his cheeks.  
  
"Aa, she said that she was going to come over with dinner for us tonight. Doesn't trust me to cook anything nutritious like the doctors said you should have. Who said burgers aren't nutritious!"  
  
"Anzu's coming for dinner? And you didn't tell me sooner! The house is a mess!" Yugi sprang to his feet.  
  
"Oi, oi. Calm down. She won't be here for hours yet. You've got plenty of time to go fix your hair and put on makeup." Jounouchi smirked and made kissy faces at Yugi who turned red again, but with a different emotion this time.  
  
"Jounouchi!" Yugi snatched up the nearest placemat and whapped Jou over the head with it. Jounouchi countered with a balled up napkin and then bolted for the living room to secure more substantial ammunition from the couch. Yugi followed in hot pursuit, snagging a pillow from the armchair as he passed it, then took a flying leap over the couch arm to tackle Jounouchi as he leaned over to snatch up a pillow. As Jounouchi toppled over onto the couch with Yugi perched on his back, whacking him over the head repeatedly with a pillow, the blond congratulated himself on a job well done.  
  
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Kami Game Shop, 5:11 pm.  
  
"Honestly Jounouchi, I expected you to at least use your head for once. The doctors said Yugi has to eat nutritious food to keep from having a relapse. And here you are, ready to stuff him on as many hamburgers as he can eat! Yugi, you may like them, but they are not the best things for you to eat right now." Anzu Mazaki frowned as she unpacked the grocery bags she had brought in with her.  
  
"But Anzu, they're Yugi's favorite! You aren't going to deny him his favorite food right now, are you? I thought you'd understand since you're a girl. Don't girls always splurge on ice cream and cake and stuff they like when they feel down about something?" Jounouchi frowned as he ducked and caught the sack of oranges Anzu had tossed at his head.  
  
"Jounouchi Katsuya, are you implying that I can't deal with my feelings except by pigging out on junk food." Anzu asked in a frigid tone as she turned to stare down the hapless blond.  
  
"Eh heh, um.....no not at all. It's just that I thought Yugi'd for sure eat his favorite food, ya know. Eh heh." Jounouchi backed cautiously away from the teenage girl and tried to slide behind Yugi. Yugi sweat dropped as Anzu focused on him.  
  
"Jounouchi-kun meant well Anzu." Yugi supplied, hoping she wouldn't turn on him too.  
  
"Well, I suppose so. Even if he is an idiot sometimes, he always means well." Anzu humphed as she turned back to the bag of groceries. "Don't worry Yugi." Anzu smiled brightly at the nervous teen. "I brought all kinds of stuff. Mother says I make a mean stir-fry so that's what we'll have tonight. Would you prefer chicken or beef?"  
  
"Um, chicken is fine." Yugi tentatively smiled back at her.  
  
"Great, you go on out into the living room and relax with Shizuka. Send Mai into the kitchen when she comes out of the bathroom, okay. Jounouchi, you set the table."  
  
"R-right!" Jounouchi grinned in relief as he hurried to pull out the dishes.  
  
Yugi headed out into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Shizuka, who smiled at him. Just as he was about to ask her what she was watching, Yugi heard the front doorbell ring. He hurried down into the game shop and glanced out the front windows. Outside, Seto Kaiba stood impatiently with Mokuba by his side. Yugi blinked.  
  
Yugi hurried over to the door and opened it to let the boy billionaire inside.  
  
"Yugi." Kaiba stated as a greeting, as his blue eyes flickered with something akin to relief.  
  
"Seto-kun, Mokuba-kun, what are you doing here?" Yugi asked, confused.  
  
Seto blinked down at him. "You mean you don't know? Damn that idiot thief! He had better have a damned good reason for calling me and insisting I get down here as soon as possible."  
  
"Bakura called you here? But, he isn't even here." Yugi blinked, confused, as he led the two up the stairs.  
  
"He sounded frantic on the phone, right ni-sama? I was worried something had happened to you, but Seto said he would have told us to go to the hospital if something serious had happened." Mokuba piped up as he walked in front of his brother.  
  
"You were worried?" Yugi asked glancing back at the two.  
  
"Un. You really scared us that night you know. I was worried you'd relapsed like that doctor said you might." Mokuba nodded. Seto just frowned slightly and grunted noncommittally, refusing to meet Yugi's eyes.  
  
"Aa. Well, Bakura hasn't called here or anything. I should probably give him a call and find out what's going on. Did you want to stay for dinner? Anzu, Shizuka, Mai and Jounouchi-kun are here too. We were just about to start cooking dinner." Yugi asked as they stepped into the living room. Shizuka glanced up from the new television and smiled brightly at them.  
  
"I didn't know you were coming Mokuba-kun, Seto-san." Shizuka smiled as her eyes found Seto's.  
  
Kaiba suddenly found himself shifting his weight uncomfortably as he wondered if he should take off his trench coat or leave it on. He had worn it to intimidate some petty bureaucrats at a meeting this afternoon and was starting to hope it wasn't as threatening as he had earlier thought. Hoping he wasn't sounding too aloof and ticked at Bakura, he nodded. "Shizuka-san." Seto shifted his weight again and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trench coat when he sensed them trying to come together and twiddle their fingers in nervous energy.  
  
Both of them completely missed the rolled eyes Mokuba passed to Yugi who returned them full circle.  
  
"Have a seat you two, I'll just go into the kitchen and let Anzu and Mai know to cook for two more." Yugi smiled as he started for the kitchen. He hadn't gone two steps before the doorbell interrupted him. "That must be Bakura. I'll go let him in." Yugi about-faced and headed back into the hall and down the stairs. Back in the game shop Yugi saw not only Bakura, but Honda and Otogi as well.  
  
As he let them in, Bakura turned to face him. "Is Kaiba here yet?" He asked with a hopeful note to his voice.  
  
"Un. What's going on, Bakura-kun? He's pretty upset you told him to come over but didn't explain why." Yugi replied sounding a bit concerned.  
  
"Let's go upstairs and fill everyone in then, us included Bakura. For a hunch you sure have dragged us around tonight." Honda frowned at the shorter white-haired teen. They all followed Yugi back up to the living room. Bakura seemed to be holding some emotion inside him as his eyes glittered and his steps seemed to jump and twitch slightly. Yugi couldn't tell if it was from excitement or worry.  
  
"Well, its about time you arrived Bakura. What is all this nonsense about coming to Yugi's as quickly as possible?" Kaiba demanded from an armchair as they walked in. This seemed to be the question that broke the dam as Bakura allowed his excitement to bubble over.  
  
"He's a genius! We figured it out! My yami's an absolute genius!" Bakura crowed uncharacteristically as he clapped his hands together in delight. Three heads poked out of the kitchen to blink in confusion at the mild- mannered British teen as everyone else stared.  
  
"What! You morons think I can't be a genius!" Bakura growled as his hair fluffed up into spikes and his eyes glittered with muted red highlights.  
  
Everyone sweat dropped.  
  
"Who says I can't be a genius! Haven't you idiots ever heard of a diabolical genius before?" Yami Bakura glowered at them. "I was the King of Thieves you know. You don't get that title by being an idiot."  
  
"Eh, ah..... hum. What was it you two figured out?" Yugi asked, hoping the thief king wouldn't cause trouble with Yami out of the picture.  
  
"Oh right. The ahou can fill you in." Bakura's hair settled to his scalp again as his eyes turned into a warm honey brown.  
  
"Eh heh, sorry about that. I'm really excited about this. I'm sure it will work and Bakura assures me it'll work too." Ryou smiled at them.  
  
"What will work Bakura-kun?" Anzu asked as she came the rest of the way into the living room from the kitchen.  
  
"Oh that's right, I haven't told you yet." Bakura smiled as everyone sweat dropped.  
  
"What is it Bakura-kun?" Yugi asked.  
  
"My yami suggested it actually. I never use the ring like that myself so it never occurred to me. But just as I was getting ready to cook dinner, I realized I couldn't find my soup ladle. So I asked Bakura to help me find the ladle, so he showed me how to use the Ring to find it. Then I asked Bakura if it could find that book report I lost for Mrs. Tatewaki, you remember the one we had to write on Shakespeare. And then he got all thoughtful and said we could use it to find almost anything. And then he said we should use it to find the puzzle piece!" Bakura cried with a flourish as he grabbed Yugi's hands and jumped up and down excitedly.  
  
"It can do that?!" Jounouchi exclaimed as he practically fell the rest of the way into the living room.  
  
"Yami Bakura would be willing to help me find the puzzle piece?" Yugi gasped, surprise and delight warring on his features.  
  
Bakura abruptly dropped Yugi's hands and straightened up as his eyes darkened. "Che. The ahou tells it like I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart. For your information, Yugi, the puzzle is useless unless its whole, and besides, I'd be bored out of Ryou's mind if that idiot pharaoh wasn't around to pester." Yugi blinked, and then Ryou blinked.  
  
"Eh heh. That's his way of saying he's agreed to help." Ryou chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.  
  
:You aren't going to tell him that you feel you owe him and Yami, are you?: Ryou chided gently.  
  
::You say anything about that and I'll drink you into a stupor and leave you with the hangover!:: Yami Bakura's angry growl darted across their link. ::I'd never hear the end of it.:: He grumbled as he settled back in his soul room, embarrassment tingeing his thoughts.  
  
"So uh, how does it work?" Jounouchi asked as he peered down at the Ring that hung around Ryou's neck.  
  
"Oh, it's fairly simple. You channel your energy into the Ring and tell it to show you what you want to find while concentrating on the thing you're looking for. Then the little hanging tines lift and point in the direction the missing thing is in." Ryou replied as he lifted the Ring up to hold horizontal in front of his chest.  
  
"So what are we waiting for?" Mai asked with a smile. "Lets go find that piece so we can all see Yugi's famous smile again." She grinned down at Yugi and winked. Yugi smiled gratefully back at Mai.  
  
"Oh right." Bakura smiled sheepishly. "Hang on just a moment, my yami is much better at finding things with it. We'll get a better scrying if he does it." Ryou's eyes glazed over slightly, taking on a distant look as he talked with his yami.  
  
:Yami? Could you do this, I'm still not very good at it, it took me six tries just to find the ladle. I don't want to discourage Yugi's hopes if it doesn't work right the first time.:  
  
::Che. You should have thought of that before you promised to find it.:: Bakura sighed as a sense of exasperation flowed down their link. ::I should have just kept my mouth shut. Then you wouldn't come begging to me for help.::  
  
:Please yami. It is your idea, and besides, what better way to prove to Honda and the others that you really didn't have a hand in the attack.: Ryou pleaded logically.  
  
::Fine. But don't expect me to do this for everything you lose.:: Yami Bakura grumbled as he took control from Ryou.  
  
"Should have kept my mouth shut." He grumbled under his breath as he shifted his grip on the Ring. Concentrating slightly Bakura channeled the power of his aura into the Millennium Ring until it gleamed with a pale blue aura. "Ring! Show me where the Millennium Puzzle is!" He commanded as he pictured the completed puzzle in his mind's eye. The Ring quivered in his grasp and the golden tines shivered and clinked together making a musical chiming sound before the Ring jerked in his grasp, tugging him in a specific direction. The majority of the Ring's tines were pointing straight out towards the incomplete puzzle that hung around Yugi's neck on its chain. A single tine pointed towards the window of the living room and sharply angled downward.  
  
"Did it fall out the window?" Jounouchi asked confused. "But it was closed that night."  
  
Bakura frowned as Honda went over to the window and looked around it and then leaned out to look down onto the street below. "I don't think it's out the window." Bakura turned and walked into the hallway and then downstairs. Everyone followed, eagerly awaiting his verdict.  
  
Upon reaching the ground floor, Bakura repeated his command. The Ring again quivered and its tines split their decision. All but one pointed towards Yugi. The single tine now pointed downwards toward the ground and somewhat westward.  
  
"Whaat! The puzzle piece is underground!! How are we going to get it out without digging up the Game Shop?" Jounouchi cried, shocked.  
  
"Don't be an idiot. Yugi stand still." Bakura paced the length of the store and then back and forth from one side to the other before turning to face the group gathered behind the counter. "The piece is very far away. I don't think it's underground. The Ring is just pointing in a straight path to it."  
  
"A straight path? Are you saying it's on the other side of the world?" Otogi asked sounding shocked.  
  
"Seems like it." And with that Ryou blinked over at them before glancing down at the still slightly glowing Ring in his hands.  
  
"How can he tell how far away it is?" Shizuka asked, looking intrigued.  
  
Ryou cocked his head to the side then blinked and replied. "He says that the tines that pointed to Yugi's incomplete puzzle all moved as Bakura moved. But the tine that pointed to the missing piece didn't move at all as he walked. He walked around so he could triangulate on the distance. The missing piece is so far away that he couldn't tell how far it is exactly." Ryou paused and frowned. "He says, the Ring indicates it's probably halfway around the world."  
  
"On the other side of the world..... How am I ever going to find it then?" Yugi moaned despondently as he dropped his gaze to his feet and slumped his shoulders.  
  
"Don't worry Yugi, we'll find it. I'm sure of it. At least now we know the direction we have to go in, right?" Jounouchi said as he tried to cheer Yugi up.  
  
"Aa. But how far do we need to go to the west? It could be anywhere from China to America." Yugi scowled as he clenched his fist.  
  
"I don't think it would be in America Yugi. If it was, the Ring would probably have pointed East." Honda spoke up.  
  
"Right, so China to er..... Europe. That narrows it down a lot right?" Jounouchi smiled encouragingly.  
  
"Don't stress your brain puppy, you might wrinkle it."** Seto scowled at Jounouchi who glared back. "Ruling out the America's hardly narrows it down."  
  
"Shut up Kaiba, you aren't helping anything!" Jounouchi snarled at him as he shook a fist.  
  
"Please don't fight you two. My yami and I were discussing this and we both agree. The best place to start would probably be Egypt. The Millennium Items are originally from there, and so are Yami and Bakura. Even if the puzzle piece isn't there, we might find some clues as to what happened that night and where the puzzle piece might be. Besides, the piece will probably be close enough to Egypt that we can use the Ring to accurately triangulate its position." Ryou spoke up, stepping between the two taller teens.  
  
"Un. Ryou's right, besides Malik and Isis-san might have information for me that will help out." Yugi spoke up, stepping forward. "I'm not sure how I'll get to Egypt, but I'm sure there's a way."  
  
"Us you mean, Yugi-kun." Bakura smiled at the smaller duelist. "I'm coming with you, you'll need my help to find the puzzle piece whether we go to Egypt or not."  
  
"Oi, 'us' is right! There's no way you're heading off to Egypt without the rest of us, right?" Jounouchi turned and glanced at Anzu and Honda and the others.  
  
"Un!" Anzu smiled and nodded firmly.  
  
"Heh, couldn't get rid of us if you tried, Yugi." Otogi grinned while Honda and Shizuka nodded.  
  
"Jounouchi Katsuya! If you think for one minute that you're going to run off to Egypt without me, then you've got another thing coming mister!" Mai glared as she snagged Jou's shirt collar. Jou sweat dropped and nodded vigorously.  
  
"Of course not Mai. I was just about to ask you to come too." Jounouchi nervously smiled at the tall blond, who nodded, satisfied with his answer.  
  
"Um.....oniichan, how are we going to get to Egypt?" Shizuka spoke up looking distressed at this hiccup in the plan.  
  
"Er.....I don't suppose Pegasus would fly us out there on an Industrial Illusions jet?" Jounouchi turned hopefully to Yugi.  
  
"The whole lot of you are hopeless aren't you?" Kaiba scowled as he stepped forward from the stairwell. "It never fails, you're off on another of your magic induced globe-hopping trips with no money and eventually you expect me to come bail you out of whatever mess you've gotten yourself into. This time, I'm going to save myself the exasperation of listening to you and the puppy beg, Yugi."  
  
"Whaat! Since when have I ever begged you for money you ....." Jounouchi started.  
  
"Really! That's so nice of you Seto-san to offer to help us out. I was going to offer the money I've been saving so I could visit oniichan this Christmas, but now I'll be able to be here in Domino for Christmas with oniichan and all of our wonderful friends!" Shizuka exclaimed as she clapped her hands together in front of her chest, beaming brightly at Seto.  
  
Both Seto and Jounouchi were dumbstruck by this. Jounouchi trailed off into indecipherable splutters, unable to contradict his sister's happy praise. Kaiba was just as flustered, suddenly embarrassed he had said anything at all, let alone been praised for it.  
  
"Er.....yes, that's good. As I was saying." Kaiba pulled himself back on track with an effort. "It seems luck is on your side, as always, Yugi. There are two Duel Monster's tournaments Kaiba Corp. is sponsoring in Europe next month. One is in France and coincides with the nationwide release of the Duel Disk mark 2 system, now compatible with the French and English cards as well as Japanese. The other is to take place in England the next weekend and coincides with the English release of the Duel Disks. Because Kaiba Corp. is sponsoring these tournaments, I have to be present in Paris and London before the tournaments begin, to finalize preparations and host the tournaments. Mokuba will be attending as well. The prize for first place in each tournament includes the opportunity for the winner to challenge myself to a duel so I must stay until the end of each. Each tournament will last three days, and we'll be in Paris and London the week before the tournaments to make sure everything is operating smoothly beforehand. As such, I must be in Paris in three weeks. However, because Egypt is on the way to France and since the Kaiba Corp. private jets tend to be spacious, I will permit you and your collection of friends to accompany me on this business trip. As I predict you will want to spend time wandering about Egypt reading ancient wall scribbles and listening to hack mystics, I will reschedule the jet to leave in two weeks." Kaiba nodded firmly as he met Yugi's eyes with his own. "If there is no other reason you called me here, Bakura, I'll take my leave." Seto glanced at the British teen.  
  
"Uh, no. I wanted you to hear the good news about the Ring's ability along with everyone else, Kaiba-kun." Bakura smiled faintly, a little shell- shocked at the aloof teen's sudden bout of magnanimity.  
  
"Very well. Let's go Mokuba. Be at the airport on time or we'll leave without you. Until then. Yugi." Seto nodded at his diminutive rival before he swept out of the front door of the Kami Game Shop, leaving everyone present in a state of surprise and shock. Mokuba followed on his heels, waving cheerfully back at them.  
  
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ANIME SPOILER ALERT!!!!  
  
* When Yugi's soul was stolen by Raphael for Dartz during the Doom arc, Yami was so distraught and horrified over his loss, and that it was mostly Yami's fault, that he was practically catatonic for a while. Wouldn't meet anyone's gaze, and was withdrawn and depressed [so sad]. Jounouchi snapped him out of it by decking him when he found out what had happened.  
  
SPOILER OVER!!  
  
** The number of wrinkles on your brain tells you how much you know! Whenever you learn something it puts a new wrinkle on the surface of your brain. So Kaiba telling Jounouchi to be careful cuz he might wrinkle his brain is saying Jounouchi knows nothing, so has no wrinkles! ^_^ It's a joke! Laugh now.....please.  
  
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Ta Da! New chapter completed.  
  
Most chapters are going to deal with one single scene or a few small closely related scenes. This is to keep the chapters from becoming massive monsters that will swallow up readers and leave me wondering what happened to my audience.  
  
Whee! Off to Egypt next chapter where we find out what's been going on with Malik and Isis these days. Harry should show up again the chapter after that.  
  
See, aren't you proud of me, I've been planning these things out, so now I'll know what's happening next. Although, that whole Jou-Yugi friendship- counseling session jumped out of the screen and ambushed me. Oh well, you liked it though didn't you? I didn't go overboard with Yugi crying and all did I? He did just get the other half of his soul ripped away from him to fates unknown, you know, I figure he's due for a good cry over that now and again. Although, Yugi is really the only guy who can get away with crying on someone's shoulder. Mokuba too, but that's cuz he's younger and he has his big brother to run to. But really, I just can't do that with say, Jou and Honda, you know. It just doesn't work without being really, really awkward.  
  
Anyone have problems with the little 'place, date, time' stuff I have going on at the beginning of scenes?  
  
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Reviewer Responses:  
  
C.M. Aeris Queen of Insanity: Actually if you re-read that you'll see that I never said Honda died. I did say that Yugi was afraid that he had died, which is quite different. Um, I take it you're going off of the anime version of Death-T. I'm afraid I never saw more than a few of the episodes from that early Yugioh series and so could not use the events that happened in it for my story. I have, however, read the translated-into-English versions of the first three manga books and up to the 13th issue of Shonen Jump. This goes all the way up to the beginning of the manga version of Death-T Stage 4 in which Yugi accepts his other half and reveals Yami's existence to Jounouchi and Anzu and fights Mokuba in a game of Capsule Monster Chess. At this point, Honda has been separated from the group because his coat was caught under a giant tetris block in Death-T Stage 3. Honda made sure that Yugi got out before the exit hole was blocked by falling blocks before he tried to free his jacket. The exit hole was blocked before he could free his jacket and Yugi was afraid that Honda would be unable to escape and would get squished by a falling block. This fear caused Yami to almost take control which alerted Anzu and Jounouchi to something being strange with Yugi. As far as I know, what I said happened to them during this time is correct as far as the manga goes.  
  
Dark-necrophhia666: Whew, dodged that demonic bullet. Here's another update to satisfy your minions. =D  
  
duckydeary: 17 huh? Well, in America 16 is the age to get a learner's permit. Actual license doesn't come till 18. Is 17 the age for permit or for license? If its license, then permit comes before, so Dudley could practice driving at 16 with an adult in the car. If its permit, then let's just say Dudley's getting his car a bit early so his parents can avoid a tantrum. ^_^  
  
Hyozanryu: Working on the chapters being shorter. Doesn't seem perfected yet though. ^_^  
  
It'sHardToBelieve: There's lots of meaning, but don't think you'll learn it all at once. I plan to keep you waiting for a while for answers to some things. =D  
  
JenniChan: I agree with Jadyn. That's scary. Must now hide behind Yugi. [He makes such a great human shield, no one has the heart to hit him to get at the person hiding behind him. ^_^]  
  
Lady Silver Dragon I: Oh good, I thought for sure it was an intro to Harry that had been overdone. But I guess mine was a bit different. He was seeing from a 3rd person point of view rather than Voldemort's after all.  
  
Mists: Well Harry didn't see it from Voldemort's point of view actually. Harry is more of a disembodied astral projection in that dream. If you'll notice he sees Volde across the crypt from where Harry's standing. I figure the Occlumency lessons prevent Harry from seeing through Voldemort's eyes, but that doesn't mean that a strong enough emotion from Voldemort can't bring Harry's consciousness to wherever Voldemort happens to be.  
  
ruth 4 kai: Updating! =)  
  
Sachi-chan: Continuing! ^_^  
  
sugarpony: Why thank you. =) Well, the Yugi gang won't be attending Hogwarts, but I never said they wouldn't drop by for some reason or other. ^_^ Yup, Malik fix, dead ahead, in chapter 5. Thanks for the tip on the Daily Prophet. Not sure if I'll change it though, there can be two wizarding papers right?  
  
The Mad Tortoise: Thanks for the support! Always nice to have people agree with the muses in my head, especially when they say nice things about me. ^_^ More coming up soon! =)  
  
Yami-Bakura's-little-thief: It may take a while for that flashback for the Bakuras, but I plan to put it in somewhere. ^_^  
  
Yanslana: Thanks for dropping by. I really hope its not getting worse as it goes along. Let me know if you think any of my latest chapters needs work, and where you think it should get it.  
  
Youkai Youko: Thanks. ^_^ And Oh look! Its an update! How cool is that. ^_^  
  
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Ah well, until next time.  
  
Ja ne! ^_^  
  
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Look at the pretty spinny disk thingy! ^_^  
  
__________  
  
/ ___________  
  
| / _______ \  
  
| | \ ___ \ | |  
  
| \________ / |  
  
\______ _ _/  
  
Mwuahaha! You are now hypnotized. You will do as I say!  
  
Now, when I update my fic you will click the purple button and submit a review! 


	5. Ch 5: Family Crisis

Guess what? It's me again! And even better news! It's another chapter!!  
  
Anyway, let's see if you can guess who the mystery person is in this chapter. ^_~  
  
Take it away Mystery Person!  
  
Disclaimer:  
  
MP: Ah, I'd really rather not be in this chapter. That crazy Egyptian kid scares me. You think maybe my brother could have this part instead?  
  
No. Just read the paper.  
  
MP: Er all right, just make sure he doesn't catch up to me okay. *looks around nervously* He hasn't read the script through all the way yet has he?  
  
Not that I know of. Malik tends to go with it as it comes to him, no planning but great acting. ^_^  
  
MP: Ah good, that's quite a relief. Oh yes, the disclaimer, right.  
  
No one at the address of the author's current residence owns Yugioh! or Harry Potter or any Egyptian Museums or Departments of Antiquities or anything residing within said Museums or Departments. Please don't sue because then she'll have to hide behind Yugi again.  
  
Notes:  
  
Not too much to say at the moment.  
  
Harry will show up next chapter. Then we're jumping back to the Yugioh cast. I hope these jumps in place and time aren't confusing you guys. Oh yeah and as you'll notice, this chapter takes place before the last chapter did, time-wise. But I felt that having this chapter after the last one sets up anticipation and suspense better for this chapter and the ones following it. Consider it something of a flashback that explains what's going on when Yugi-tachi arrive in Egypt.  
  
After this chapter there's going to be about three more before the first of the tournaments takes place. That's where I'm putting the duels, so if anyone wants to give a shot at helping me write them, take a look at the Notes for ch. 4 and send me an email.  
  
Hmm. Now this is interesting. I just did some web surfing because I was looking for a map of Egypt to figure out where exactly Cairo was. Not only did I find Cairo, but I'm pretty sure I figured out where Pharaoh Yami's place used to be. The pictures of the palace in the manga even match the pictures I found of the excavation/museum of the place in modern times. Wow was Yami's pad huge. Basically the same shape from above too. And it fits the correct geographical position of the image of the RPG gameboard Yami and Bakura are using. Of course, the Temple of Wedja or Ouja or however its spelled where the Kaa tablets were kept isn't shown on the little map of the compound, but there is an empty area there in the right spot that has no labels. ^_^ So, who besides me has a sudden urge to go hang out at Yami's place? Think we can find the big pot he hid in as a kid to avoid lessons? Mwuahahaha! I can even see where the Sacred Lake is in the manga picture of an aerial view of the palace! Course, Yami probably didn't call it that. I bet he called it his pool. =D Yami could have an awesome pool party there. Heeheehee!  
  
Hmm. I should probably never be allowed to visit Egypt after this. ^_^;  
  
If you're good little reviewers and ask nicely I'll even spill about where it is. =P  
  
Anyhow, here we go. Hang onto something, there's a few bumps in the story coming up. ^_^  
  
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Harry Potter and The Advent of Darkness  
  
Chapter 5: Family Crisis  
  
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Cairo, Egypt, Natural Museum of Cairo, July 8th, 4:13 pm.  
  
The courtyard steps in front of the Cairo Museum were scattered with Cairo City Police officers as they worked to move curious tourists and occasional nosey reporters along to keep the entryway to the Museum clear for the investigative team to work. Police tape enclosed the immediate area as small clusters of officers stood to either side of the lily pool at each of the approaches to the main entrance.  
  
Officer Asim bowed his head in respect as the coroner's team began moving the latest of the black-bagged bodies down the steps to the waiting morgue van. This would be the fourth corpse brought out since the coroners were allowed onto the scene. The reporters, clustered around the police tape set up closest to the van, crowded closer as the Detective in charge of the investigation walked out behind the stretcher, talking to the Director of Museum Security.  
  
The cameras flashed and reporters shouted jumbled questions as they pushed against the police line. Shaking his head at their disrespect for the dead, Asim turned back to his post at the other side of the lily pool and asked a pair of American tourists to please move along and not obstruct the police work. Glancing back he saw a fifth body bag being trundled down the steps of the Museum.  
  
The unmistakable rumble of a motorcycle drew Asim's attention back to his duties. He turned to face down the main walkway that led from the main gates of the museum grounds to the courtyard he stood within. Asim was just in time to see a sleek, low-slung black and silver motorcycle tear around the corner onto the street that ran up to the main entrance to the museum grounds.  
  
The driver recklessly shot across the street that paralleled the perimeter fence, narrowly avoiding a minibus full of tourists and a battered pickup truck full of fresh produce. The tan robed figure on the motorcycle gunned the engine as he shot through the main gateway, scattering several reporters and the officers escorting them out, as he passed. The motorcycle skidded its back tires as it skirted the lily pool, leaving smudges of black rubber on the pavement. The driver spun the bike in a 180 degree turn, kicking up a cloud of dust as he faced back the way he had come and braked to a halt before Asim and the three other officers detailed to keep tourists moving along from this end of the police tape line.  
  
Asim strode forward, a stern scowl on his face as he went to chew out this reckless man for his antics. Before he had taken four steps away from the police tape, the motorcyclist had swung off of his bike and propped it up without a pause as he pulled off his gleaming black helmet, decorated with a golden eye symbol on the forehead above the visor. Asim stopped in surprise at the countenance that turned to face him as the driver stepped away from the bike.  
  
It was not so much the appearance of the young man that made Asim pause, which were certainly unusual, what with the light blond hair and strikingly pale lavender eyes, but rather the expression on his face as the young man turned his gaze to the museum entryway where the sixth body bag was now being hauled to the van. This was not the expression of a reckless stunt driving punk, but rather that of a panicked, frightened young teenager. Before Asim could collect himself once more, the young man had dropped his helmet to the dusty ground and bolted forward.  
  
"Isis!" His panicked voice rang out, reverberating off the stone walls of the museum as he sprinted for the stairs into the museum.  
  
Asim barely had time to register this before the youth darted past him. Behind him he could see his partner, Namehk snag the teen by his dusty tan robes and jolt him to a halt before grabbing the boy's right arm. Asim rushed to help as the boy thrashed in Namehk's grip and nearly broke loose.  
  
"Ra damn you! Let me go! Isis!" The teen howled as he struggled to get to the museum, even if he had to drag the two officers with him.  
  
"Stop struggling, boy! Do you want us to arrest you!" Namehk snarled as he caught the boy's thrashing elbow right before it jabbed into his solar plexus.  
  
"Let me go, you fools! I've got to see Isis! Isis! Damn it! Isis!" The boy snarled as he was spun back around by Asim and shoved back towards the motorcycle.  
  
"Listen kid, no one's allowed to cross the police line. Not even if a pharaoh himself rose from his tomb to come here. Not him, and certainly not some reckless motorcycle riding kid. You got that!" Asim scowled his best ferocious guard glare at the kid.  
  
"Isis was here the other night! I know she was! She's my sister, damn it! Let me in! I have to make sure she's okay!" The boy snarled at them as he lunged back for the steps, darting around Asim's reaching arm but getting caught by Aberet as he tried to avoid Namehk. Aberet grabbed the teen by his shoulders and threw him backwards to land on the dusty paved courtyard floor.  
  
"No one unauthorized gets in while the investigation's going on. I don't care if she's your mother or your daughter, let alone sister. You're not getting in. Now get the hell out of here before we arrest you for that driving stunt you pulled!" Aberet snarled at the boy as he rolled over and got to his feet once more, his face shadowed beneath his straw blond bangs.  
  
"You ..." The teenager's voice growled low as he hissed the word. "You dare ..." Asim shivered slightly despite the heat of the sun bearing down on the courtyard. It felt as though the temperature had just dropped 20 degrees and the brightness of Ra above seemed to dim as though a great shadow had settled over them all. The teen's fists clenched at his sides as he raised his veiled gaze to lock eyes with Aberet.  
  
Aberet took a step back as the color drained from his face. The teen's eyes were cold and harsh. Narrowed in unveiled anger, the eerie lavender eyes seemed to draw in all the light and emit chilling shadows in its place. Asim shivered and took a step back, unable to help himself, as he was caught in the eddies of this suddenly frightening teen's gaze.  
  
Then the teen abruptly shook his head, his long blond hair swaying across his face, hiding those chilling eyes from view. As suddenly as it had come, the oppressive feeling of chill darkness vanished. Asim blinked, uncertain if he had imagined it all.  
  
Asim gathered his thoughts and explained in a regretful voice. "We're just doing our job kid. If the crime scene is disturbed, we could lose evidence that could catch the murderers. I'm sorry, but you'll have to take up your concerns about your sister with the police chief at the main Cairo precinct station. You could also try the hospitals, there were a bunch of people with minor injuries, but only a handful were killed. She's probably there if she isn't at the station giving her statements to the detectives."  
  
The teenager nodded, his eyes veiled by his hair once more before turning and walking back to his motorcycle. As he picked up his helmet he spoke without turning to look at the officers. "I understand. But ... if she is hurt, then whoever did this will pay."  
  
"That's why we're here kid. To catch the ones who did this." Asim assured, uncertain if that had been a question or a statement from the boy.  
  
The teenager nodded, then pulled on his helmet before mounting the motorcycle and revving the engine. A moment later and he was turning right, onto the road fronting the museum grounds and was lost to Asim's sight.  
  
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Malik Ishtar scowled as he pulled his motorcycle up outside the back entrance of the Cairo Museum and saw yet more of those infuriating policemen blocking off the entryway. "Apep take their souls!" He hissed. He'd been to every entrance to the museum and had yet to find a way inside that wasn't guarded by those idiots.  
  
Malik's fingers itched as he clenched them around the handlebars of his motorcycle. He'd prefer if they were clenching around another item's grip, but that had not been his for over two years now. Much as he missed the Millennium Rod he was not about to go off and try to win it back. Besides, it wasn't meant to be his in the first place. It was just so useful though, especially at times like this...  
  
Malik gritted his teeth as he forced from his mind all thoughts of making those pathetic policemen bow to him and escort him inside with all due respect. Malik sighed, Isis was right. He really needed to work on his social skills. Being friends with Yugi and the others had helped him a lot; but aside from emails he hardly ever talked to them. Japan was just so far away. He had planed to visit them later this summer as a surprise, but now this had happened. He hoped it was just his imagination kicking into overdrive and not what he feared. But until he saw Isis with his own eyes and verified that he needed to stop drinking soda mixed with those funky pop rocks after midnight instead of running off on a fool's errand, he wasn't going to stop worrying.  
  
Malik kicked the stand up again and revved the engine as he prepared to skirt the perimeter again and try to find a way to climb over. Hopefully he could find a window or a vent he could pry loose.  
  
"Fine time to not have that crazy tomb robber around. I guess it's true. Never around when you need 'em." Malik muttered under his breath as he shook his head. Just before he started the motorcycle into motion a shout from across the street caught his attention.  
  
"Master Malik! Master Malik!" Malik snapped his head around at the little used title and saw a brown robed and hooded man running across the dusty street towards him, waving his arm frantically.  
  
Malik growled under his breath and darted his gaze around swiftly. Cursing under his breath in two languages he gunned the cycle and sped to the man, nearly knocking him to the ground as he skidded to a halt beside him and snapping his visor up.  
  
"Ra damn it! Jhareem! How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that in public!" Malik hissed as he grabbed the young man by the front of his robes and pulled him over the front of the motorcycle before speeding off down the street and around a corner, then turning a sharp left down a narrow alleyway.  
  
"S-sorry, Mas...er...Malik, sir." The man stuttered, flushing red in embarrassment as Malik dumped him off the front of his cycle and swung off, propping the kickstand up.  
  
"You're not a Ghoul anymore! I disbanded them! You know that, you don't have to call me that anymore!" Malik growled as the man brushed off his robes and flipped back his hood in the shade of the alley.  
  
"I know that sir, but, you're the Head of the Clan, I have to show respect somehow." Jhareem replied sheepishly, ducking his head as he pushed his shaggy black hair back out of his brown eyes. "It doesn't feel right to just call you Malik, sir. You deserve more respect than that. Especially after everything you've done for us, taking us in and all."  
  
"That still doesn't mean you should call me Master. And stop calling me sir, it makes me feel old." Malik scowled at the youngest of his ex-Ghouls in Egypt.  
  
"Ah, yes si...um...Malik...-sama?" He finished looking hopefully at his adoptive clan leader.  
  
"Fine, fine. Now, what in the name of Maat is going on Jhareem!" Malik pulled off his helmet and turned to face the taller young man.  
  
"Ah, yes, you got my email right, Malik-sama?" Jhareem looked nervous as he scuffed his sandals against the ground.  
  
"Email? What email? I've been driving like the fiends of Tuat were on my ass since yesterday before dawn." Malik frowned at the man.  
  
"I-I thought you had come because of my email Malik-sama." Jhareem looked at Malik in surprise. "W-why have you come if not for that?"  
  
Malik scowled down at the ground. "I had a premonition. A feeling that something was wrong with Isis. I don't know what, but somehow, I feel it in my gut." Malik snorted and shook his head. "And here I thought Isis was the seer in the family." He snapped his eyes up to meet Jhareem's. "Now, since I did not get your email. Explain." Malik stepped forward menacingly. "You are supposed to be tailing Isis. Where is she, Jhareem?"  
  
"Ah, er, Miss Isis is... er..." Jhareem twiddled his fingers as he took a nervous step back from Malik.  
  
"Jhareem...You may not be my subordinate in the Ghouls anymore, but as the Head of Clan Ishtar you are required to follow my orders. Now, let's try this again." Malik stepped forward, locking his piercing gaze with the dark-haired 23 year old. "Where is my sister Jhareem?"  
  
"Forgive me Malik-sama." Jhareem dropped his gaze to his feet and for an instant threatened to fall to his knees. Malik scowled and gripped his shoulder to prevent that act. "Miss Isis discovered my presence last Monday. Even the concealment spells you taught me couldn't fool her senses. She was most upset at learning you had protectors following her. She tolerated my presence but refused to allow me to accompany her when she went to meetings with Museum staff."  
  
Malik frowned. "You did not even try to insure her safety at such times? You are an accomplished escape artist and ex-thief. You should have been able to get in and out of the museum without anyone but Isis knowing of your presence."  
  
"Of course, Malik-sama. But Miss Isis forbade it. I tried the first time she went to a meeting with the Director of Antiquities and she nearly called the guards upon me. Then she admonished me severely afterward. She pointed out that she is of a higher clan rank than I, and so, I must bow to her wishes when she makes them so explicit." Jhareem ducked his head in chagrin. "She also said that I am such a good marksman that any threat could be taken care of from a discreet distance from her person, Malik- sama."  
  
Malik sighed. "I should have expected no less from her. She's no slouch when it comes to assessing her surroundings. Go on, Jhareem. What is going on, and why are you here, but Isis is not?"  
  
"Ah, yes. I was just getting to that, Malik-sama. Miss Isis had a meeting the night before last. Her business dealings here in Cairo were a success. She had informed me that she intended to return to Luxor yesterday morning after her acquisition papers were finalized by the Director of Antiquities."  
  
"So then, it was the Book, wasn't it." Malik mused.  
  
"Yes, Malik-sama. The Book of Millennia, just like Miss Isis had hoped. She had stiff competition in the estate auction with a young British gentleman. He wished to view the Book and discuss the possibility of purchasing it from her after the auction had concluded. That is the meeting Miss Isis was attending on the night of the 6th. She was quite specific in insisting that I remain outside the museum during the meeting. She assured me that the museum guards would be more than sufficient to protect her if they were good enough to protect the Book while she waited for her papers to be approved."  
  
"Obviously they were not. What the hell happened that night Jhareem?" Malik stared Jhareem down, daring him to avoid the question.  
  
"Ah...Well, I waited outside just as Miss Isis instructed. I secured a position within a stone's throw of the lily pool at 10:45 pm and waited for the meeting to commence and conclude. Just before 11 pm the British gentleman arrived and was escorted inside by one of the security guards. I'm certain it was the same man as the one at the auction. There are very few people in Cairo, even tourists, with such vivid red hair." Jhareem continued.  
  
"Why so late? The museum closes at 10:30 pm." Malik frowned as he considered the implications.  
  
"The young man insisted on a private viewing of the Book. Miss Isis suggested meeting after the museum had closed for the evening."  
  
"So then, no sight-seers to get in the way of a theft and attack." Malik scowled darkly, his eyes narrowing with implied bodily harm should he discover the man before the police do.  
  
"I do not know Malik-sama. The trouble did not occur until after the Robed- ones arrived." Jhareem replied nervously.  
  
"Robed-ones?" Malik snapped his head up to meet Jhareem's gaze.  
  
"Yes. At midnight another group of people arrived at the museum. There were about a dozen of them, each one heavily cloaked and robed in black. I could not see their faces beneath the hoods." Jhareem nodded.  
  
"And you did nothing?" Malik growled turning his narrowed gaze onto his hapless clan member.  
  
"N-no Malik-sama." Jhareem stuttered. "The guards let them in without any hassle. The lead Robed-one took something out of his robes and showed it to the guards while saying something. I assumed it was some form of I.D. because the guards immediately led them inside without any further words."  
  
"Then they were expected? Who could they have been?" Malik frowned and turned away for a moment.  
  
"I do not understand who they were either Malik-sama. It was not long after, that I began to get a sense of great foreboding. I used my senses to the utmost, just as you taught me, but the power I sensed was completely unfamiliar to anything you've shown me Malik-sama. I was certain something was wrong, so I used my strongest concealment spells and slipped past the remaining security guards. I was barely inside the doors before I knew things had gone terribly wrong. The people who work the night shifts in the museum, the janitors and catalogers and such were lying about on the floors. I checked the first few I saw. Most were alive, but immobile and unconscious, but strangely so. Some of those still alive were stiff as a three day old corpse, but one poor guard seemed to be frozen solid where he stood."  
  
"Frozen alive!" Malik gasped. The power needed to freeze a man in such a manner would have had to be immense.  
  
"I am fairly certain that he was dead. I cannot imagine how he could survive such a thing." Jhareem replied, shaking his head. "I ran as swiftly as I could toward the basement level where the Department was keeping the Book until Miss Isis took it with her back to Luxor. I was certain she had to be there, with that British man. However; before I got to the room, I encountered six of the Robed-ones in the hallway." Jhareem paused to level his gaze significantly at Malik. "They saw me."  
  
Malik started in surprise. "They saw you? But you said you had cast the concealment spells. Had you dropped them?"  
  
"No! Of course not Malik-sama. I don't know how, but the Robed-ones saw me as though I had never cast them at all." Jhareem exclaimed as he clenched his fists.  
  
"Was Isis there? Did you see her?" Malik demanded.  
  
"No Malik-sama. I did not see Miss Isis with the Robed-ones. But ... Malik-sama ... they had the Book."  
  
"What! Isis would never have given that up to them." Malik whirled away and paced furiously back and forth across the alley. "What could have happened to her!?" Abruptly he paused and spun back to face Jhareem. "You re-acquired the Book, correct?"  
  
Jhareem bowed his head in shame. "No Malik-sama. I could not. These Robed-ones were far too powerful." He lifted his head to meet Malik's gaze. "They had such powerful magics Malik-sama. I had no chance to contend with them on my own. I tried to get the Book from the one who possessed it. However, the Robed-ones used magic spells to fight me. I barely managed to deflect the first barrage of magics from their spell- sticks. One of the spells bounced off my shielding and struck the Robed- one nearest me. He collapsed into the same state of stiff unconsciousness as the museum staff I had passed earlier. To my shame, I ran. I could not fight them and hope to win. I believed that informing you of what had transpired would be a better use of my services than as a very large paperweight. Forgive me Malik-sama." Jhareem dropped to his knees before Malik and bowed his head.  
  
"Oh, for the love of Ra! Get up you fool!" Malik grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. "You honestly think I'll hold it against you that you did what you could and then retreated when you had to? If these men could wrest the Book of Millennia from Isis, then their magic is certainly stronger than yours. Very few of our clan's talented can match Isis. Getting this information to me is definitely more important than becoming a frozen lump. Now quit cowering and stand up!"  
  
"Th-thank you Malik-sama." Jhareem attempted to bow again, but Malik stopped him by grabbing his shoulder and shaking him.  
  
"Stop that! Now tell me, what happened after?"  
  
"I escaped the Robed-ones by taking refuge in the 19th dynasty wing. I waited until I could no longer sense their strange magics and made my way as quickly as I could to the room the Book had been kept in. There were signs of a struggle and magical fire-fight that extended into the hallway and beyond, but no sight of Miss Isis or that British gentleman. Before I could continue my investigation and follow the traces further, the museum was overrun with more strange people. These too wore robes and cloaks, but in white and tan rather than black. They too reeked of the strange magics the Robed-ones had wielded. Fearing discovery, I retreated to a position outside of the museum grounds. My earlier position was no longer feasible because these newcomers patrolled the grounds of the museum as much as the museum itself."  
  
"More strange magic users? They're just coming out of the woodwork aren't they." Malik scowled as he began pacing once more.  
  
"I waited until dawn, hoping Miss Isis would emerge from some hiding place unharmed, but she did not. I returned to the apartment she had rented for her visits to Cairo but she was not there either. I sent you an email message telling you of what had happened and requesting assistance to search for her and the Robed-ones. The strange new magic users did not leave until late last night. Only then did the Cairo police move in and take over the investigation into the attack." Jhareem finished.  
  
"And you saw nothing of Isis?" Malik asked turning back to Jhareem.  
  
"There were signs of a struggle and a chase, but I did not see her with the six Robed-ones I encountered."  
  
"But six others were unaccounted for. They could have taken her." Malik growled as he twisted his hands around the chin-guard of his helmet. He snapped his gaze up to Jhareem. "You did not see her be-spelled on the ground? You didn't see her body or anyone that might have been her?" He demanded, his lavender eyes filled with apprehension.  
  
"No Malik-sama. But I did not have opportunity to check each person who had been struck down. There were many in the halls on the way to the where the Book was kept, and some I saw in halls I did not venture down." Jhareem added reluctantly.  
  
"Damn it! There's no way to tell then, unless we check every possibility!" Malik slammed his fist against the mud-brick wall nearest him. "Ammit take them all! If Isis has been harmed by those Robed-ones..." Malik's voice trailed off as he glared murderously at the ground. "Jhareem! How many other ex-Ghouls and clan members are here in Cairo, or within easy reach?"  
  
"I-I'm not sure Malik-sama." Jhareem stuttered, caught off guard by the sudden question.  
  
"Never mind. Rishid will know." Malik resumed his frantic pacing with a vengeance. "I want you to start checking hospitals. If she was injured, then she'll probably be there."  
  
"Which one Malik-sama?"  
  
"All of them! Keep track of which one's you've searched already. I'm going to send out a summons so you'll have help soon. Disbanded or not, every Ghoul who can, will be here as soon as I can make it happen. I'm calling up the other clan members as well. I want to know everything there is to know about that British man. If he had something to do with the Robed-ones, I want to know. He's our only possible lead right now on them."  
  
"Yes Malik-sama. Where can I get in contact with you?" Jhareem asked, straightening as he received orders.  
  
"Headquarters will be at Isis's apartment unless I specify otherwise. You'll be able to reach me there. If you find anything, phone me there or on my cell phone, understand?"  
  
"Yes Malik-sama!"  
  
"You have your cell phone with you?" Jhareem nodded at this question. "Good, I'll call you with further orders once I learn of the type of manpower available. Now go." Malik nodded his head in acknowledgement as Jhareem bowed, then watched as he whirled and hurried to the far end of the alley to disappear around the corner onto the street.  
  
Malik turned to his motorcycle and slid his helmet back on as he mounted up. A moment later he pulled up across the street from the museum's back entrance. Malik gritted his teeth and scowled at the policemen guarding the gate and back entryway.  
  
For his family he had conquered a darkness so evil it had threatened the entire world. The fact that it had been spawned from his own heart had made it that much more difficult for him to overcome. If he could do that, then there was no power on this earth that he would not face to see his sister safe again. Millennium Item or not, the Robed-ones would learn what it meant to cross an Ishtar.  
  
TBC  
  
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Well, there we go again.  
  
I just realized I've been forgetting to put the TBC at the end of the last two chapters.  
  
Oh yeah, I have no idea what the police forces are like in Egypt or if they even call them police. So I went with what little I know of police in America. Sorry if I got it all wrong. ^_^;  
  
This chapter has the first real oc's in my fic. I'm sorry if you totally hate them. They probably won't be recurring. Maybe Jhareem will show up again to carry out more of Malik's orders, but I don't know.  
  
Yeah, I figure that the Ishtar clan wasn't just guarding the Millennium Rod and Tauk. They also guard all the stuff from the pharaoh's tomb, and probably the priests' tombs and stuff dealing with shadow magic too. As such, they probably have access to ancient Egyptian magic texts and such that don't need Millennium items to work, just like Mana didn't need Millennium items to work her own magic in the AE Memory Arc. For Isis and Malik to be able to use the Millennium Items shows they have strong magical abilities, reincarnation of priestess or not. So they're strong spell casters too, when they bother to learn the spells, that is. So, even though neither has the Millennium Items anymore, they still have magical powers that they can channel into spells that they learn from ancient texts. They can also teach these spells to other people who have magical talent, depending on how strong the magical ability is for each person.  
  
Okay, about the whole clan/Ghouls thing. I figure, Malik had a huge worldwide organization of Ghouls who all looked to him as their leader. He couldn't have been controlling all of their minds all the time. And not all of them had to be crazy nutcases who enjoyed a good spot of sadism now and then. I figure that a lot of them joined him for money and such, but a good number probably joined the organization for the same reasons gangs form. A sense of family and togetherness for people who don't have their own families to rely on. Malik's own family tragedy and his purpose behind going after the pharaoh's spirit would give him plenty of reason to take in people who had useful talents who had also suffered tragic family pasts.  
  
I also figure that the Ishtar clan did not consist of just Malik, Isis, Rishid, the father, and a mother who seems to have died before the father did. For them to survive down there in that complex, I think they probably have a very large extended clan that is led by the main family which Malik is now the head male member of. The extended clan could be either distantly related or not related to the main family at all, but pledged into the clan by the main family's head of household. Of course, the big hush, hush secrets of the clan, a.k.a. The Millennium Items, would be known only to the highest ranking families.  
  
Therefore, I think that after Malik decided not to destroy the pharaoh's spirit for revenge, and rejoined his family, he probably disbanded the Ghouls at Isis's insistence. [If he's going legit, he shouldn't keep an international criminal organization under his control.] Ghouls that joined for money or cuz they were nuts probably feared Malik and wouldn't dare cross him if he threatened them into going legit and staying that way. Any Ghouls who were loyal to Malik because of the sense of family would probably have decided to stay near their leader/father-figure, Malik. And Malik, being Malik, probably decided to throw stuffy tradition to the wind and adopt any of them that wanted into the Ishtar clan. And so we have ex- Ghouls like Jhareem becoming Ishtar clan members. ^_^  
  
As you can see, Malik still has some problems with authority, but he means well. ^_^  
  
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Reviewer Responses!  
  
C.M Aeris Queen of Insanity: Look its an update! ^_^ Glad I cleared that up for you. =)  
  
Cyberkat: Planning on fixing that sometime soon. Thanks for the tip. ^_^  
  
It'sHardToBelieve: Well, Yugi's a bit depressed about this. How can he not be, you know. But thanks to a little concerned intervention and logic, from Jou of all people, he's not going to sink into depression and despair when he has a goal to work towards. ^_^  
  
Mists(): Hope Egypt was worth the miniscule wait. ^_^ Ah yes, procrastination on other things can lead to amazing authorship skills. ^_^;;  
  
Lady Silver Dragon I: Dang it! No wonder no one puts ascii-ish art into their stories. It never uploads right. Well, Malik anyway, dunno where Isis went off to and Rishid is elsewhere at the moment. Oh do show her, the more people liking my fic the better. ^_^ Have I pleased your evil OC's with my Super-Fast-Updating no Jutsu?  
  
Reviewer(): Yup, Yami goes just a 'little' bit psychotic on Insector Haga on that train ride. Especially after he thinks Haga tore up Yugi's soul card. ^_^  
  
Sachi-chan(): Okay, thanks. I'll have to change that one of these days.  
  
Youkai Youko: Well I don't know about them playing duel monsters. But they'll definitely get to see some. ^_~  
  
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Simon Says: Push the Purple Button!  
  
Now, Push the red button!  
  
The green button!  
  
Simon Says: Review Please!  
  
Shimon Says: How tall is the pharaoh?  
  
Ah ah ah! Simon didn't say! =P 


	6. Ch 6: One Man's Trash Is Another's Trea...

Hey again.  
  
Sorry it took so long for another update. I've been busy with other things. In fact, I should still be doing those other things, but I decided to do this instead.  
  
Anyhow, disclaimer time.  
  
Disclaimer:  
  
As I have discovered, no matter how many kickboxing kangaroos I employ, I still do not own Yugioh or Harry Potter or even one of the characters.  
  
Notes:  
  
Well, it seems no one wants to know where Pharaoh Yami's palace used to be. Except for Tuulikki that is. Since you've been such a wonderful reviewer I'll let you know Tuulikki.  
  
If you look at manga pics of the palace, both from the front and from above, you'll notice that it looks amazingly like the temple at Karnak in Egypt. The aerial view of the palace matches in shape and layout the map- as seen from above- of the Karnak temple. Also, during one scene in chapter 295 when Priest Seto goes into the village to hunt kas with Priest Shadi/Shada we see the road up to the palace gates is lined with sphinx statues that have ram's heads. Karnak also had a road leading up to it lined with ram-headed sphinxes, most have been removed for safe storage these days but some are still there. There is another temple, the Luxor Temple, that is only a mile away from the Karnak temple that has the seated statues in front of it that we see in front of the gates of Yami's palace. Also, the shape of the wall where the front gates are in the manga is the same as the shape of the Karnak temple walls that we can see from the aerial view of Karnak. Also, the back gate picture of Karnak shows the top of a building that is very much like the top of the Temple of Tablets. From the aerial views of the palace that we see in chapter 320 you can see how closely the palace resembles the layout of the Temple at Karnak. Also, the Karnak temple is situated in the correct geographic location to be the palace. Directly across the Nile from it is the Valley of the Kings where all the tombs are. It's situated next to the modern city of Luxor, which was once Ancient Thebes. Here's a link that'll show you some of the pictures I found. Remove the spaces.  
  
ht tp:/ /members.a ol.co m/egypttour/karnak.ht ml  
  
Wild huh? =D  
  
Anyway, back to the story at hand. Sorry this chapter is so short. Next chapter looks to be a monster in the making. Yugi-tachi get ready to leave, travel by plane, and arrive in Egypt and learn a little more about what's going on. After that its back to Harry for more info on what's up with him.  
  
Oh, I lied again. There will be OC's. Well technically they're not OCs because they do exist in the manga/anime, they just don't have much personality to them. So I give them more personality and make up a few for plot purposes. Though, I guess they're not too integral to the plot, at least not the ones we first learn about, but...um...yeah. Okay. Don't hate me for them. Please. ^_^;  
  
Anyway, um anyone know how old Malik was during Battle City? Isis? Rishid?  
  
Still looking for help with the duel scenes. If you can write them well and help me out, I'll make your penname, or if you want, real name, as one of the duelists during the tournaments. Check chapter 4 for more specifics on this. Thanks.  
  
Ooh plot advancement! We're getting somewhere now.  
  
On with the show!  
  
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Harry Potter and The Advent of Darkness  
  
Chapter 6: One Man's Trash Is Another's Treasure  
  
//-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------//  
  
Surrey, England, Number 4, Private Drive, July 18th, 2:07 pm  
  
Magical Mystery Causes Muggle Tragedy  
  
On the evening of July 12th, Aurors and Ministry Officials were  
summoned to the site of the small muggle village of Beckinwaithe in  
Northern England due to an unusual magical disturbance. Upon arrival,  
merely fifteen minutes after the magical effects of this disturbance  
were felt, the members of the British Ministry of Magic discovered  
that the village of Beckinwaithe no longer existed.  
  
Where once there had been a small but thriving community of over 75  
muggles, there was now nothing except smoking ruins, enormous craters  
and the ghastly image of the dreaded Dark Mark hovering above the ill-  
fated village ruins. Only a handful of survivors were discovered  
hiding in the rugged, hilly countryside by the thorough searching of  
the Aurors. These ten surviving muggles all fled the scene of the  
attack upon discovering the danger of the situation. They were taken  
to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies to undergo treatment of  
wounds as well as questioning and eventual memory charms.  
  
According to our sources, the survivor's claims and eyewitness  
accounts are highly unusual and disturbing. There have been at least  
five separate claims from these individuals regarding the alleged  
cause of the destruction. Three of these claims involve mention of at  
least fifteen heavily black-robed individuals wearing white skull  
masks who remained unharmed during the attacks and seemed to direct  
and orchestrate the entire incident. All five claims, so far, involve  
mention of creatures or monsters of some sort. Two of the survivors  
claim to have seen similar, if not identical, creatures. However; the  
other three claims differ as to what creatures they saw attacking the  
village and its inhabitants.  
  
Efforts are underway to identify what, if any, actual magical entities  
were involved in this. There are two claims of at least three  
creatures that the survivors could only describe as being dragon-like.  
However, the control and distribution of dragons is strictly  
controlled by the British Ministry as well as all other Ministries  
worldwide. Also, the descriptions of these dragon-like creatures do  
not match the known profiles for any dragon species currently living.  
Research is underway to ascertain the possibility of a previously  
thought-to-be-extinct species of dragon, or an illegal crossbreed  
being involved.  
  
The only traces of magic at the site involved what can only be  
described as an unusual and undocumented form of a portkey. This  
magical trail, similar but distinctly different from the signature of  
any registered portkey type documented by the Ministry, has thus far  
proved untraceable.  
  
It seems the only thing the Ministry knows for certain is that this  
was undeniably the work of Death Eaters, those unsavory followers of  
the Dreaded Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. One can only wonder  
what purpose He and his followers had in destroying an isolated and  
relatively unknown village consisting only of muggles.  
  
Harry Potter scowled as he tossed the daily newspaper across his room to scatter across the floor between his bed and the door. It had to be Voldemort's doing, but why? Why attack a village of only muggles? Had someone there inadvertently pissed the snake-faced bastard off? Or was it something else? Had it been a test of some kind? Maybe of this strange new power his followers had to be able to utterly destroy an entire village? Or was this simply a case of muggle-terrorism?  
  
"Damn him!" Harry snarled as he rolled to a sitting position on his bed and slammed his fist into the pillow beside him. "So many people..." Harry whispered as he dropped his gaze to his lap.  
  
How had Voldemort and the Death Eaters gotten so much stronger so quickly? Aside from the incident at the Museum in Cairo there had been little to no word on the activities of the Death Eaters all summer. Whatever curse or curses had been used in Beckinwaithe had to have been far stronger than the one Wormtail, a.k.a. Peter Pettigrew, had used to escape Sirius and fool the Aurors in order to do so much damage to the village. Harry had certainly never heard of a curse so powerful it could level an entire village. And what about those 'creatures' the eyewitnesses had been talking about? Had Voldemort finally fully convinced the giants to join him? Had they been Dementors? Or maybe Vampires and Hags had joined him as well? But dragons?  
  
Harry found that last hard to believe. But...it could be possible. After all, Voldemort, as Quirrel, had managed to get a hold of a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon egg to trick Hagrid into spilling the secret to get past Fluffy. Surely he could have stolen more dragon eggs from somewhere. But could his Death Eaters really control them if they were fully-grown? Considering how much damage Norbert had managed to cause in the short time he had been in Hagrid's house, and just hatched at that, Harry could well imagine how much damage several full grown dragons, working together could cause to a village of humans. Not to mention how dangerous the dragons he and the other Triwizard Champions had faced had been. But could they really control dragons? Wasn't that why raising dragons had been banned? Dragons were highly magic resistant creatures and could shrug off most spells cast on them by a single wizard or even several. They were also very dangerous and highly uncontrollable except by concerted effort on the part of many wizards working together. Even then, the most they can do is stun it or make it sleep.  
  
The Triwizard dragons had taken about six handlers apiece and even then, they had had a lot of trouble controlling them enough just to keep them from breaking loose and running amok. Could Death Eaters have simply set dragons loose on the village? But the eyewitnesses had said that the robed people had not been harmed or attacked, could they have found a way to control dragons to the extent of being able to choose an attack target? Harry shook his head and slumped his shoulders. He had no way of knowing what the truth was. So far, his dreams had revealed nothing about Voldemort's plans, not since the strange vision of that cemetery.  
  
Speaking of which, he was still waiting for a reply from Remus about that dream. Harry had already decided to let Ron and Hermione know about it. So far he had heard back from Hermione.  
  
Typically, Hermione had suggested research into the symbols and ritual he had seen. She had also sent him a thick volume on magical runes and ritualistic symbols she wanted him to go through and find anything that matched what he had seen. So far, he had gone through three chapters before falling asleep in his chair. He'd try again later.  
  
Harry sighed and slumped sideways onto his mattress, staring blankly at the wall beside his door. He didn't really want to look at the paper again, it would probably only have more bad news. He was debating whether or not to head downstairs and risk trying to watch television for anything that might help the Order when he heard a quiet rustle of wings and a rush of cool air washed over his back and ruffled his unruly black hair into his eyes. Rolling over Harry saw that Hedwig had returned from her mission to deliver his letter to Ron.  
  
Hedwig perched on the headboard of his bed, an envelope tied to her left leg as she extended her wings for balance and hooted softly at him. Harry smiled as he straightened up again and stretched out his arm for her to perch on. With a satisfied hoot, Hedwig transferred from the headboard to his forearm and extended her leg with its paper passenger.  
  
"Welcome back, girl. I hope Pig didn't bother you too much." Harry smiled as Hedwig ruffled her feathers up and rotated her head to look at him sideways before hooting at him. Harry took the letter from her and opened it up as she flapped over to her open cage and took a drink from her water dish.  
  
Harry scanned the contents of the letter from his best friend and nodded to himself before frowning.  
  
Hey Harry,  
  
Ron here, but you know that already. Sorry it took so long to get  
back to you. Things have been really crazy here the past few weeks.  
Hey, did you know Bill is in England right now? He's staying at the  
Order with the rest of us, except Percy. He's still being a royal  
pain in the ass. Admitted to being a stupid git about you, but he's  
still being Fudge's lapdog. Mum and dad didn't want him to get  
involved with the Order, because then he'd just leak information to  
Fudge. And that would be just like putting out an advertisement in  
the Daily Prophet inviting Death Eaters to the Order's meetings.  
  
Anyway, back to Bill. He's staying at the Order you know. He's got  
all kinds of awesome stories about Egypt and all the tombs he's been  
in to de-curse the stuff before muggles get into it. Mum doesn't like  
him telling Ginny about it though, but she listens in anyway. Some of  
its just wild, you know. Anyway, he's not just here to visit you  
know. Did you hear about that museum attack in Cairo by Death Eaters?  
Bill was in the area when it happened, he's fine though, don't worry.  
  
He thought the Order should know that those slimy gits stole this book  
he was checking out for the Egyptian Ministry of Magic. It was some  
spell book about Ancient Egyptian curses or something. It was for  
sale in some dead guy's estate auction, to muggles! Can you believe  
that? Those muggles probably thought it was just some fairy tale  
junk, Bill says. But the Ministry wanted him to get it before some  
muggle did, or get rid of all the real spells and curses that are in  
it and on it too if a muggle won it in the auction. Don't want any  
modern muggles growing a couple more arms and another head, after all.  
Anyway, before he got a chance to de-spell the thing, a bunch of  
Death Eaters showed up and stole it right out of the museum. Killed a  
bunch of muggles to get at it too.  
  
Anymore dream visions that might say why He wants a moldy old spell  
book? No idea what that one you told me about means. Maybe he was  
trying out one of those spells and it backfired. Hope it blew his  
wand-hand off. You should ask Hermione, she'll know. She probably  
already has the research done for it, in her spare time, you know.  
Bet she'll know, soon as you ask her.  
  
Anyway, mum and dad are trying to get Dumbledore to agree to bring you  
to the Order soon as we can. Snape keeps arguing with them about  
which is safer for you to be at. Didn't know that slimy jerk cared so  
much. Probably just wants to make sure you survive till Hogwarts  
starts up so he can torment you again. I'm sure he'd miss his  
favorite target if you died over summer. Anyway, I'm hoping they  
agree to bring you here soon. Then Bill can tell you some of his cool  
stories about Egypt. Maybe he knows a few curses he can teach us.  
Bet an extra head growing out of his stomach will shut Malfoy up next  
time he tries something. Anyway, I'll send you another message later  
on. I gotta get going. Fred just set off his newest extra strength  
version of a dungbomb down the hall. I gotta find somewhere safe from  
the fumes and spatters.  
  
See you,  
Ron Weasely  
  
So, the news about the Cairo Museum had been about Death Eaters. Figures. Still doesn't explain what Voldemort could be up to. None of it made any sense. None of the incidents this summer seemed to be connected in any way. First a robbery of an Egyptian spell book from a museum in Cairo, then that strange dream vision of a ritual in a cemetary that blows up shortly afterward and sends the Death Eaters flying, then an entire village of muggles leveled by, apparently, dragons.  
  
What the hell was going on?  
  
Harry lay back down, after setting the letter on his bedside table, and stared at the ceiling. It only seemed to be getting more and more confusing as time went on. Surely Voldemort had a plan...didn't he?  
  
Harry snorted. The great and powerful Dark Lord couldn't be 'winging it' could he? No that wasn't like him. It wasn't like the Tom Riddle Harry had gotten to know from Voldemort's diary, and it certainly wasn't like the real Voldemort himself to just go with things as they came to him. He was cunning and conniving, not fickle and random. That meant there had to be a connection. But for the life of him, Harry had no idea what it could be.  
  
Just as Harry was debating whether he should look over the rest of the newspaper, his aunt's voice shrilled up at him from the staircase.  
  
"Boy! Get down here, you lazy boy! I told you to take out the garbage hours ago! If you don't get off your lazy bum and take those bags to the curb the trash collector will leave them until next week!"  
  
Harry growled under his breath as he sat up. Figures. Aunt Petunia had not asked him to take the garbage out hours ago. In fact, she had specifically asked Dudley to take out the trash because she couldn't find Harry, who had been hiding under the hydrangea bush at the time. And the garbage man wasn't to come until tomorrow morning.  
  
"Hurry up you lazy child! I'll not have garbage collecting in this house for two weeks! If you expect to live here under this roof and eat from our table, then you'll have to do your share of the chores!" Aunt Petunia's voice shrilled from the staircase again.  
  
Harry sighed and got up. If for no other reason, he did not want to have to deal with his relatives being constantly angry at him. Even if they couldn't toss him out because of Petunia's promise, they could still make him miserable without bringing down the wrath of the friendly neighborhood self-appointed 'Harry Potter Protection Committee' of the Order. Otherwise dubbed the 'Happy Committee' by Hermione and Ron. As in, HaP-P Committee. Oh well, it was better than SPEW.  
  
"I'm coming." Harry called down the stairs as he headed out into the rest of the house. Uncle Vernon was out at work for the day and Dudley had gone out early to play with Piers and his gang with the most recent gadget his parents had bought him. It was some sort of dueling thing, Harry didn't really care that much about some weird card game. He was sure Exploding Snap was much more fun.  
  
Just as he came down into the kitchen, the front door slammed open behind him in the front hall.  
  
"Damn this thing!" Dudley snarled under his breath as he thundered past Harry into the kitchen. Harry followed silently in his wake.  
  
"Mother this Duel Disk is broken! How could you have purchased a faulty Disk for me!" Dudley cried, his face turning red as fake tears welled up in his eyes.  
  
"Oh Duddikins! Whatever do you mean? I had no idea it was faulty! What is wrong with it to make my darling Dudders cry!" She gasped as she rushed over to her enormous son and threw her arms around his girth. "Don't cry Duddies! I'm sure the company that sold it will replace it, you've only had it for a day now. I'm certain there's a warranty for these things."  
  
"This rotten thing refuses to read any of my cards! How am I supposed to win a Duel against Piers, or anyone, if it won't read my cards!" Dudley cried as he brandished the strange wrist contraption around the room.  
  
"Oh my poor Dudders! How terrible for you! Show mummie what you mean my dear."  
  
"Look!" Dudley cried as he held out his pudgy arm and pushed a button on the underside of the wrist band. The loose wrist band contracted and tightened around his arm, leaving bulges of pasty white flesh to be squished out from either end of the wrist band that was obviously designed to be worn by normal sized humans, instead of whales masquerading as people. The two slotted fin halves rotated around and clicked together to form a single plate on the outer side of his arm before lighting up and making a soft beeping and quiet humming. There was a soft hiss as two small projectiles were launched from either side of his wrist; at least, they tried to launch. The unprecedented size of Dudley's arm and the bulges of flesh got in the way of the devices and they sort of dropped off of the disk to plop onto the ground a couple feet apart on either side of Dudley. Then they lit up and hummed along with the disk itself. Then Dudley drew a card out of the deck holder that sat above the back of his hand and flipped it over and put it into one of the slots on the fin pan. There was a series of tones from the device before a grainy, distorted, fuzzy image of a person in armor appeared in the kitchen. Only it was about three feet tall and skinny as a reed while somehow its torso was doing a loop-de-loop while one leg was shorter than the other. "You see! It's all messed up!" Dudley cried as he gestured at the distorted figure.  
  
"Oh dear, that is dreadful. Is this what its supposed to look like? I daresay this duel pan thing is not worth what we paid for it." Aunt Petunia scowled at the distorted image.  
  
"No this is not what is should look like! Piers's works just fine. And it reads all of his cards correctly too! This one won't read half of my cards correctly! The other half it ruins the holograms of them!"  
  
"Oh dear, I'll be sure to have Vernon take this up with the store manager. I'm certain we can get our money back, or get a replacement that works. Don't fret Duddikins, we'll get this terrible mess sorted out right away." Aunt Petunia cooed as she hugged her large son to her bony frame.  
  
"I need new cards as well, mother. These ones just won't cut it against Piers's deck. I haven't been able to win a single duel against him with these sorry excuses for monster cards." Dudley reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of the odd playing cards.  
  
"What's the use of this monster card anyway? I can't see how anyone can use its ability and still have enough life points to win the duel." Dudley sneered down at the card on the top of his handful. "These others are just garbage cards anyway." Dudley turned away from his mother and tossed the handful into the open garbage bag that waited in the corner for Harry to drag to the curb. "You need to stop buying me such weak and stupid cards, mother. If I'm going to win that tournament next month I'll have to have the strongest monster cards and the best magic and trap cards I can get. Not junk like those ones."  
  
Harry's ears perked up. Did he just hear the 'm' word? He did, and it didn't set off a maelstrom of fear and anger?  
  
"Of course Dudley dearest. You just tell your father and I which cards you want and we'll get them for you. Don't you worry. You're going to make your father and I so proud of you at that important tournament!" Aunt Petunia's eyes filled with tears as she squeezed her son to her chest again. "And when you win, I'm certain that that talented young CEO of Kaiba Corporations will take to you at once. How could he not like my dear Duddikins! Then you can invite your new friend to dinner and Vernon will certainly charm him into agreeing to sponsor Grunnings." Aunt Petunia cried as her eyes lit up at the thought of her Dudders becoming friends with such an important person as the young Kaiba Corp. CEO.  
  
"Good. I'll show Piers who the best duelist is when I take the title at the Kaiba Corp. English Nationals Tournament." Dudley grinned as he took off the duel disk and put it on the table. "Be sure dad gets one that works correctly this time, I'd hate for him to waste his money on another faulty machine." Dudley frowned at the duel disk before taking his deck of cards out of it and slipping it into his pocket.  
  
"Of course dear. Why don't you go watch the television for a bit. I think your favorite show is starting soon." Aunt Petunia smiled at Dudley. Dudley nodded and got a chocolate diet shake out of the refrigerator before heading past Harry into the living room.  
  
"Now you! Don't just stand there gawking! Get that garbage out of here!" Aunt Petunia snapped at Harry who had ducked out of Dudley's way.  
  
Harry nodded and trudged over to the garbage can. Lifting out the black trash bag he slung it over his shoulder and headed back through the house and out the front door. Once at the garbage cans that sat in front of the driveway Harry had to set the bag down to take the lid off the metal can. As he dropped the bag to the ground, it fell over onto its side and some of the garbage on top spilled out onto the driveway.  
  
Harry scowled. "Just great." He muttered under his breath as he set the lid onto the ground and knelt down to stuff the trash back into the bag.  
  
As Harry picked up a handful of paper towels he found one of the Dudley's cards lying face up on the ground under it. He blinked, surprised. He picked up the card and looked more closely at it. It was not at all what he had expected.  
  
The title of the card read 'Retrained Celtic Guardian.'* On the card face was the image of a blond warrior with a large broadsword, wearing deep green and brown armor, chased with silver.** The most striking features, however, were the large pointed ears that protruded out from under either side of the warrior elf's helmet and the brown eyes with slit pupils. This was not the sort of card Harry had ever expected Dudley, of all people, to have.  
  
The text of the card had a type and two values listed. There were four stars inside little circles along the top of the picture. A special effect was written in a text box on the bottom. The card read:***  
  
Retrained Celtic Guardian  
  
Type: Effect Monster  
  
Earth/Warrior  
  
Attack: 1400  
  
Defense: 1200  
  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle with a monster that has an attack strength of 1900 or higher. (Damage is still done.)  
  
To say Harry was surprised would be an understatement. His cousin, who hated anything magical or supernatural of any kind, playing a card game with an elf as a card. Although, Dudley did throw this card away, maybe because it was an elf, and therefore, bad.  
  
Curious now, Harry began to search through the spilled garbage and through the top layers of the bag looking for the other cards. Eventually, he decided he must have found them all when he had picked up the 19th card, and had reached the bottom of the bag.  
  
There was definitely a theme of magic running through these cards. A few of them were even labeled 'magic card'. To think that Dudley could even get Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia to buy cards with pictures and titles like these was enough to make Harry's head spin. What sort of card game was this anyway?  
  
As Harry rifled through the small stack of cards he admired the artwork on them. They looked like they had been drawn by a master artist. As he paused to read more closely a card with a pink-winged angel nurse carrying a large syringe filled with green fluid,**** Harry heard the front door open. Quickly he stuffed the cards into his pocket and scooped the last of the trash back into the bag before straightening up and stuffing it into the trash can. As he turned back to the house he saw Dudley stumping down the front steps, counting out his pocket change.  
  
Dudley completely ignored Harry as he continued on down the street towards the park where the rest of his gang was sure to be. Harry scowled at his back before heading back into the house.  
  
Once back in his room, Harry took the odd playing cards out of his pocket and began looking them over again. The artwork was really nice. The only cards he'd seen like them were the famous wizard trading cards that came with chocolate frogs. Granted, these weren't magical or anything, and they didn't move, but it seemed a shame to just throw them away. Dudley tossed them, so he wouldn't miss them. Harry grinned to himself.  
  
"I think I'll keep them."  
  
TBC  
  
//-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------//  
  
Harry's Cards:  
  
Retrained Celtic Guardian  
  
Type: Effect Monster  
  
Earth/Warrior  
  
Level 4  
  
Attack: 1400  
  
Defense: 1200  
  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle with a monster that has an attack strength of 1900 or higher. (Damage is still done.)  
  
Injection Angel Lily  
  
Type: Effect Monster  
  
Earth/Magic User  
  
Level 3  
  
Attack: 400  
  
Defense: 1500  
  
Effect: Can only be activated during your or your opponent's Damage Step. Pay 2000 Life Points to increase this card's attack strength by 3000 for the Damage Step.  
  
//-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------//  
  
I already know which 19 cards Harry has. I'll fill you in on them later as they come up in the story and add their stats and such at the bottom of each chapter they show up in.  
  
Yes, Dudley threw them away. Now, say it with me everyone:  
  
"Dudley is a moron that sucks at Duel Monsters and couldn't get the Heart of the Cards to work for him if his life depended on it."  
  
//-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------//  
  
* I don't like the fact that the English translation of this card is 'Obnoxious Celtic Guardian'. I just can't see CG as obnoxious. Mischievous, maybe, but not obnoxious. The Japanese name is 'Retrained Elven Swordsman'. I figure a lot of people won't know what card I'm talking about if I call it Elven Swordsman, so I mixed the two. Please don't hate me for it. ^_^;  
  
** To distinguish between Yugi's Celtic Guardian and this one, I made it an English [as in from England] edition card. In my fiction universe the English editions tend to use slightly darker color tints for the card images than the Japanese version do. So while Yugi's CG has leaf green armor, this one has a darker green armor color.  
  
*** All the card information is from the actual cards in the real life card game. I hope it doesn't differ too much from the effect of the anime/manga cards. This card information [except my altered names for them (if I alter the names)] was obtained from Edo's Yugioh! Page! He says his translations are not for use with any ebay or auctions of any kind. I hope he doesn't mind my using them here. Edo, if you see this and disapprove please let me know and I'll stop doing anything like this. Thank you. Here's his url, it's an excellent site about the card game. It has manga summaries too. Take out the spaces.  
  
ht tp:/ /w w w.storm pages.co m/edhrzic/Yugioh.ht m  
  
**** Drat those American dub censors!! They changed Injection Angel Lily's syringe into a giant red and pink rocket. Explain to me how a weapon of mass destruction [no matter how pink it is] is better for kids to see than a syringe held by someone dressed as a nurse??  
  
//-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------//  
  
Well, there we go. More plot advancement, sort of. Harry is introduced to Duel Monsters. We get to laugh at Dudley and his attempts to duel, plus his ambitions for his tournament career.  
  
Harry has a total of nineteen cards that he rescued from the garbage collector. So far, I've let you guys know about two of them. I know which ones he has already. As more of the story passes, you'll get to see more of which cards Dudley threw away, and begin to be able to fathom his depth of Dueling stupidity while we're at it.  
  
These cards are all from the real card game [Japanese version]. I got the names/effects/stats from Edo's Yugioh! Page!. The url for it is up above in the *** section of endnotes for the story.  
  
//----------SPOILERS FOR ANIME/MANGA---------------------------------------- ----------//  
  
Just for fun I found these cards also on Edo's page. All of them have connections to the manga or the anime in some fashion.  
  
DARK MASTER - ZORK  
  
Type: Ritual Monster  
  
Dark/Demon  
  
Level 8  
  
Attack: 2700  
  
Defense: 1500  
  
Summoned by a [Pact With The Dark Master]. You must sacrifice 8 levels or more worth of cards from the Field and/or your hand. Once during your turn, you may roll 1 six-sided die. If the roll is a 1 or 2, destroy all of your opponent's Monsters on the Field. If the roll is 3, 4 or 5, destroy 1 of your opponent's Monsters on the Field. If the roll is a 6, destroy all of your Monsters on the Field.  
  
[This card with its dice effects is a lot like the monster Yami Bakura used against Yami and Yugi and friends in the very early anime series [not shown in USA] in the Monster World RPG game that Ryou likes to play. Its also the name of the God of Evil Zork Necrophidious from the Ancient Egyptian Arc.]  
  
CRUEL VIOLATOR - CHOPMAN  
  
Dark/Undead  
  
Level 3  
  
Attack: 1100  
  
Defense: 500  
  
When this card is Reverse Summoned, you can Equip 1 Equipment Magic card from your Cemetery on this card.  
  
[The Chopman was a serial killer that Kaiba hired/coerced into joining his Death-T game against Yugi and his friends in the manga. Jounouchi had to face him in a death match where the Chopman used a chainsaw and Jou had to fight for his life. They were chained together and the chain ran through a metal ring set into a stone in the center of the circular room. Jounouchi escaped by using the sharp point of a candlestick holder to pick the lock from the chain. Then he tied the chain to the window bars of the door and used the Chopman's brute strength to rip the door off its hinges. The candle fell into oil that covered the floor of the room and the Chopman burned to death while Jou got out of the room.]  
  
DARK HERO: ZOMBIRE  
  
Dark/Warrior  
  
Level 4  
  
Attack: 2100  
  
Defense: 500  
  
This card cannot attack a player. Reduce this Monster's attack strength by 200 for each monster that this Monster destroys during Battle.  
  
[In the manga, one of the often bullied kids that Yugi is sort of friends with has an obsession with an American comic superhero called Zombire who is sorta like Spawn in appearance. The kid gets into trouble when he dresses up as Zombire and his father pays some bullies to pretend that he defeated them to give him confidence. The bullies then decide to force money from the dad or else they'll really beat up the kid, when the kid thinks that he can defeat the bullies because he's a superhero like Zombire. Yugi comes to rescue the kid and Yami takes over. He uses spray paint to draw a maze on the ground while avoiding the attacks and punches of the bullies and then flicks a match onto it, setting the flammable paint on fire and singeing/scaring the bullies into running away.]  
  
WILLPOWER OF NORMALCY [Bonkotsu no Iji]  
  
Permanent Magic  
  
If you draw a Normal Monster during your Draw Phase, you can show that card to your opponent and draw 1 more card.  
  
[Can also be translated as Spirit of the Mediocre One. Poor Jou, he even gets a card named after Kaiba's nickname for him. Kaiba calls Jounouchi Bonkotsu a lot. It basically means Mediocre One or normal person. Yugi/Yami uses this card in the most recent episode fresh from Japan. It comes after the Doom arc and is one of the first episodes of the Kaiba Grand Prix story arc. Basically, Yami uses the card in a duel against a computer and Jounouchi asks the others why would Yugi have a Bonkotsu card in his deck, and everyone laughs at him (except Yugi/Yami who's busy dueling). After the duel Jou puts Yami on the spot by asking why he had that card. Yami thinks for a sec, then says 'hold on just a sec' and winks, then switches with Yugi (who was in spirit form in the background grinning at Yami's discomfort at being put on the spot by Jou). Yugi spazzes out and yells at Yami that that's not fair. Yami, in spirit form in the background, just looks off into the distance with this 'don't look at me, I didn't do anything' expression on his face. Jou then grabs Yugi around the shoulders and demands to know if Yugi thinks Jou is a bonkotsu like Kaiba does. Yugi admits that it did remind him of Jounouchi and Honda cracks a joke at Jou who gets mad and lets Yugi go.]  
  
ACROBAT MONKEY  
  
Earth/Machine  
  
Level 3  
  
Attack: 1000  
  
Defense: 1800  
  
[I haven't seen a picture of this card, but it got me thinking. Maybe this is the card of the body that Honda was stuck in during the Noa Arc after his own body was stolen by one of the Big Five. It is a machine type after all.]  
  
//--------END SPOILERS------------------------------------------------------ --------------------//  
  
Er. Anyway. Hope I haven't offended anyone by giving Harry duel monster cards.  
  
Oh about why Dudley's Duel Disk won't work. Well for one thing, its a mark one model imported from America, which means it only reads American and Japanese cards properly. It can read some English [British] cards but not all, and some will have mistakes on the holograms. For another, Dudley's arm girth is interfering with the proper function of the hologram projection rocket things. This means that they can't fire properly and so end up falling to the floor too early. This causes the holograms to be shrunken and distorted instead of their proper impressiveness.  
  
Oh and Dudley is really bad at duel monsters. He thinks that more powerful cards = better deck. He basically gives no thought to strategy. Plus, the Heart of the Cards hates him. ^_^ That's why he threw away such potentially useful cards.  
  
Oh, I made up Beckinwaithe. If you should by some bizarre coincidence of fate, happen to live in a village in Northern England named Beckinwaithe, I apologize for blowing up your town. I'll have the Aurors use a time-turner to set things right for you. ^_^  
  
Bye Bye for now!  
  
//-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------//  
  
Injection Angel Lily says:  
  
Please be good readers and push the purple button and leave a review. If you don't, I may be forced to use my special effect on you. And no one likes getting stuck with a giant syringe full of questionable, bubbly, green fluid. ^_^ 


End file.
